Guiding Light of Destiny

FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE

THE GUIDING LIGHT
OF DESTINY

Ko Pong

Foreign Languages Publishing House

Pyongyang, Korea

Juche 92 (2003)

This book is a translated version of The
Guiding Light of Destiny, Part 1 of Echoes of
Man by Ko Pong, fellow at the south Korean
Society of Independent Philosophy.

Editor

CONTENTS

1 . The thread of Ariadne 3

2. Thousands of Years of Groping for the Guiding Light of Destiny 6

3. "Man, Know Thyself!" 10

4. The Promethean Myth and the Independence of Man 14

5. Man Knows Why He L abours 17

6. Controversy between Makers of First Stone Implements and Producers

of Robots 20

7. Advocates of "Human Crisis" 23

8. "The Myth of Sisyphus" 27

9. Man Cannot Be a "Donkey" 29

10. Robinson Crusoe and Children Reared by a Wolf 32

11. Social Collective and 1 34

12. If Man Is to Play His Role 38

1 3 . Dominator and Transformer of the World 39

14. The Law of the Domination of the World and Its Transformation

and Development by Man 42

15. The Philosophical Principle of Love of and Faith in Man 45

16. Human Dignity and Value Raised to the Highest Level 49

1 7 . An Induction Furnace Exploded 51

18. Omnipotence of Man, Materials and Weapons 55

19. The Secret of "Chollima" 58

20. The Voice of Man Is a Voice from "Heaven" 61

Preface

If man is to lead a life worthy of humankind, he must set for himself a proper
spiritual mainstay and make it his unvarying faith.

A man of right faith can move even mountains and leave his mark as he travels
along the right path, however arduous it may be.

At the present time, at the beginning of the 21 st century, faith and will are qualities
that are to be highly appreciated.

History extracts due payment from those who abandon faith. This is proved by the
present realities in the former Soviet Union and the socialist countries of Eastern
Europe, where socialism, which was built at the expense of the blood, sweat and tears
of preceding generations, crumbled overnight, leaving the people floundering in a
society mired in unemployment, poverty, corruption, debauchery, crimes and narcotics.
This is the result of their forsaking faith in the future, faith in the struggle to lead a life
worthy of humankind.

Only if man relies on a scientific and revolutionary philosophy can he adopt a
correct world-view and have the conviction that he will emerge victorious in the
struggle to carve out his own destiny.

There has been a resurgence of interest in philosophy in recent times. This is
because in the 1 990s the limitations of Marxism-Leninism were exposed with the
collapse of distorted socialism in the East European countries, and independent
thinking was sought for a way out.

Now we have a philosophy complyin9g with this requirement: the man-centred
Juche philosophy, the political philosophy that "The People are my God." The
philosophical outlook of Juche is the faith that one must keep steadfast in the struggle
for a society where people can lead a life worthy of humankind; it is also the torchlight
of struggle that guides one to carve out one's destiny.

Serving as the guiding light of human destiny, the Juche world-view elucidates the

great truth that man is the master of his own destiny and that he has the power to carve
out his own destiny.

I would not like to give a full account of the principles of the Juche philosophy in
this book. I only try to introduce it to the readers in the form of popular stories. There
may be a lot that is missed out, but I console myself with the thought that it will be of
some help for my contemporaries at the dawn of the 21 st century to set up the right
spiritual mainstay.

I hope many good suggestions will be forthcoming from the readers.

1. The thread of Ariadne

There is a saying that there is only one path to truth although there are many paths
one may take in the course of one's life.

It is common knowledge that only with the help of a compass can aeroplanes flying
high in the sky and ships sailing in the vast oceans navigate and safely reach their
destination.

Similarly, only if a nation or man has a correct world-view can it or he pursue the
right course and live with national and human dignity. An erroneous world-view
deviates a nation or man from the correct path; man or nation has to weather rough
storms and difficulties and face ruin, like a ship adrift in the sea. If it or he finds the
right path even after vicissitudes the destination can still be reached, despite making
distant detours.

A Greek myth goes as follows. One day, the god of all gods, Zeus in Olympus,
ordered the other gods to build a beautiful underground palace. The gods devoted
all their wisdom and energy to building the palace. On being told that the palace
was completed, Zeus ordered his most reliable subject to inspect the palace and
report to him about it. But, although he waited long, the subject who had gone
underground did not return. Angry at this, Zeus sent another subject, with the same
result. Zeus was enraged, thinking that his subjects had betrayed him because the
power of his lightning flashes did not reach underground. At last Zeus ordered
Jejea, husband of his dear daughter Ariadne, to make a round of the palace and
report on it.

Ariadne realized that those who had already been sent would not have dared to
betray Zeus, the king of gods, in the face of his absolute power, and decided that there
must be some other reason for their failure. She wound some thread round a spool, tied
one end of the thread around her husband's body and held the other end in her hand.
She let out the thread as her husband went down. Jejea entered the underground palace

and made a round of it, drinking in its beauty, before he started on his way back home.
However, he came up against a blind alley on the path he took; he took another path,
but was again faced with an impasse and could not find the way out. He was at a loss.
While roaming here and there looking for the way out, he discovered the thread drawn
behind him. He shouted for joy and came out of the labyrinth, following the thread.
The gods who had gone underground before him had not betrayed Zeus but had died in
the labyrinth, not able to find the way out.

That is why the world-view that guides one to the right path, the path of truth, is
likened to the "thread of Ariadne".

A correct world-view makes it possible for man to carve out his destiny, following
the path of truth. If one does not have the right world-view, one is likely to wander
about, losing one's way and undergoing vicissitudes.

Philosophies of the exploiting classes in the past failed to give a correct world-view
to nations and peoples, but indulged instead in doctrinairism.

Some people might say, "What is the use of philosophy? After all, we have lived so
far without knowing any philosophy. Philosophers are not men of reality." I would like
to relate to them an anecdote involving Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher.

Socrates was famous as a philosopher, but was indifferent to feeding his family. He
paid no heed to his wife's complaints about their hard life; her words, to him, were like
"the sutras recited to an ox's ears". One day, as Socrates was explaining his
philosophical ideas at the marketplace, with no one listening to him, his wife poured
water all over him. The people thought this would anger Socrates. But instead he said,
with a straight face, "What a sudden shower from the blue sky!" The people burst into
laughter and his wife felt extremely ashamed.

Some people might say, "How can a man who cannot persuade his wife persuade
others? What can be achieved if one indulges in philosophy alone, unconcerned
whether one's family starves or not? Philosophy is so far removed from our life, like a
stale old story. What is the use of studying it?"

These are not questions raised against all philosophies. They are, presumably,
criticisms directed against "philosophers" who, turning away from the stark realities of
today, engage in explaining outmoded western philosophies and are obsessed with
dogmatic Marxism-Leninism.

The philosophy of the past failed to show man how to shape his destiny. A
philosopher wrote: "Some trends which are supposed to have roots in the western
notion of value, introduced in modern times, require deep reflection. Hedonism,
mammonism and egoism can be cited as the most general and important among them."
These are trends among people with distorted world-view, influenced by wrong
philosophy.

If philosophy is to truly contribute to shaping human destiny, it must above all
adopt this as its basic mission.

But, in the long history of world philosophy that dates back several thousand years,
no philosophy set for itself the mission of shaping human destiny. The Juche
philosophy, for the first time, formulated that the basic mission of philosophy lies in
moulding human destiny and clarified the principles and methodology for achieving
this.

Kim Jong II said:

"The Juche idea established a man-centred outlook on the world by throwing a
fresh light on the essential characteristics of man and his position and role in the
world."

Man lives in the world and his destiny is shaped in relation to the world. That is,
man creates his living conditions and means of subsistence by remoulding nature to
suit his needs; he extends his independent rights through social reform; he enhances
his position and discharges his responsibility and role as master of the world and his
own destiny by increasing his independence and creativity through a steady
remoulding of himself.

The Juche philosophy formulates the position and role of man in the world as the basic
question of philosophy. It discovered the philosophical principle of shaping destiny, which
means that man is master of everything and decides everything.

This is the principle that enables philosophy to carry out its mission of imparting a
world-view which indicates the path and way for moulding human destiny. It marks a
milestone in the history of philosophical world-view and can be said to be a great
contribution to opening up a new scientific and revolutionary world-view that serves
as a genuine guide for shaping human destiny.

The Juche philosophy made clear for the first time that the essential attributes of

man are independence, creativity and consciousness, and elucidated a new view that
the world is dominated and moulded by man, a social being with independence,
creativity and consciousness.

It also made clear the philosophical methodology that everything must be geared to
realizing the independence and interests of man and to enhancing his role, because
man is the master of the world and the most powerful reformer in the world.

Today, nations and people, mankind as a whole, are taking the road of struggle
towards a society in which man can lead a life worthy of humankind, on the basis of
the principles and methodology illumined by the Juche philosophy.

2. Thousands of Years of Groping for
the Guiding Light of Destiny

There is a saying that when the truth is finally arrived at, it reveals itself as being
quite evident, simple and ordinary.

The philosophical principle behind the Juche worldview, that one is responsible for
one's own destiny and that one has the capacity for shaping one's own destiny is a
clear, simple and universal truth.

What a great relief this simple truth will be to the people, who have so far thought
that philosophical principles or truth are not comprehensible by ordinary people! Until
this realization comes upon them, they fall prey to the influence of mysterious beings
or heroes, and are obsessed with the fatalism that man is dominated by some superior
being or power and that his fate is destined by it. Several thousand years had passed
before the principle for shaping man's destiny was elucidated, shining like a bright
guiding light on mankind. The masses of the people then raised a shout of joy, seeing
the bright prospect before them, as if they were embracing the universe.

Kim Jong II said:

"The former philosophical world outlook elucidated the principle of materialism,
that the world consists of matter, and the principle of dialectics, that the world

ceaselessly changes and develops. This philosophical principle alone may clarify the
general character of the material world but not the position and role of man in the
world."

The earliest philosophical thoughts of people focussed on what the world
around meant to them. At first the minds of people were dominated by idealism.
They believed that a "heavenly god", a "sun god", or some other superhuman being
had created man and the world; and that man is powerless before them and has to
follow his predestined fate. Idealism, which preached religious mysticism, was an
ideological venom that induced people to give up their faith and will to shape their
own destiny, fall back into fatalism and meekly obey the system of exploitation
sanctified in the name of "God". The reactionary exploiting classes called their
leader "heavenly son" and said that those who disobey the orders of the "King, the
son of God" will be punished by God.

The masses, who had no power or money and were ignorant, prayed to the "God"
who decided the destiny of the world and its people to improve their lives and begged
forgiveness for their supposed sins, but nothing changed.

A devout believer is said to have told his sons on his death bed, "There seems to be
a God for the rich but not for us, the poor in this world. We prayed to God for help
through generations, but God never cared for the poor."

It would be another matter if one has the ability to strike off the list the "names of
those destined to death", or to make man live 600 years instead of the 60 years he is
destined to live, as Sun Wukong did while going down to hell, as described in the
Chinese novel Journey to the West.

Worship of animals or plants was extant among the ancient people, who were
grateful towards nature for providing them with living conditions and food. They
believed that there were spirits dwelling in animals and plants, like in men, which
benefited mankind (animism).

With the differentiation of classes and formation of the state, the exploiting classes
built temples and held all kinds of sacrificial rites to protect themselves and their state,
in the name of 'God's will'. The city-states of Greece were formed around the temples
where the citizens worshipped God. For instance, Delphi was formed around the
Apollo temple, Ephesus around the Artemis temple, Cyprus around the Aphrodite

temple, and Athens around the Olympus temple for Zeus.

Another ideological trend in the attempt to understand the world is the world-view
according to which the world is a product of "ego", and history and human destiny are
decided by "superhuman" will. It suffices to think of Napoleon, Hitler or the Japanese
emperor, to judge what great damage has been done to mankind by the fantasy derived
from such subjective idealism.

Contrary to the idealistic world-view, the materialistic world-view directed much
of its attention to the origin of the world, and held that the world originated from water,
fire, air, soil and other particles of matter. Later it developed to the view that the
smallest of "atoms" are the origin of all matter. The materialistic view gradually
progressed to modern materialism, according to which the essence of the world is an
objective entity independent of human consciousness. The relations between matter
and consciousness were explained scientifically by Marxism-Leninism, putting an end
to the protracted controversy.

Before Marxism emerged, there had been materialistic philosophies that asserted
the material character of the world, but they fell into idealism in dealing with social
phenomena even while explaining natural phenomena on the basis of materialism. The
establishment of Marxist historical materialism dealt a telling blow to idealism, and
materialism achieved a crowning victory.

Marxism-Leninism proved that society does not develop by some mysterious
factor or by "superhuman" will; it showed that material living conditions based on
the mode of production of material wealth form the basis of society, and that
society changes as the mode of production develops. This was a great
philosophical discovery that brought about a radical change in the development of
world-views. With the establishment of historical materialism, the Marxists
evaluated, idealism, which had maintained itself on the strength of social
phenomena, lost its last refuge. This was a right evaluation by Marxists of the
significance of Marx's discovery of historical materialism. But it was so only in the
historical conditions of those days.

Even after the enunciation of historical materialism, idealism proved to be
unyielding, and it put on a new guise in the era of imperialism. It revived mainly
in the form of subjective idealism that distorted human nature, in the form of

human philosophy. This suggests another point of issue: that the principle for
shaping the destiny of man, who lives in the world, must be based not only on an
elucidation of the nature of the world but also on a scientific exposition of the
essential attributes of man. Without elucidation of man's nature idealism cannot
be finally destroyed.

In the era of imperialism idealistic philosophy attacked Marxism on the "nature
of man", a virtual gap in Marxism. Existentialism, pragmatism, freudianism,
personalism and other modern bourgeois philosophies are based on a distortion of
man's nature and thereby available to justify colonial predatory wars, racist
oppression, murder, rape, degradation, debauchery, pessimism, decadence,
eroticity, mammonism, individualism and egoism. Philosophers had dwelt on the
essence of human nature for several centuries but had failed to give it a scientific
explanation. Pending this explanation, it was impossible to elucidate the principle
of shaping human destiny.

Marxism, which considered man in his social relations, meant no more than an
overall denial of the idealistic explanation of human being, for, it too failed to elucidate
human nature. The principle of shaping one's own destiny, which clarifies the position
and role of man in the world, can be established only when there is a scientific
exposition of human nature.

Kim Jong II said:

"The Juche idea expounded that man is a social being with independence,
creativity and consciousness, and thus gave a perfect philosophical elucidation of
man."

Man approaches the world in a revolutionary and active manner and remoulds it
purposefully, because he is a social being with independence, creativity and
consciousness. This being his real nature, man is entitled to the status of the most
powerful being in the world and the only dominator and remaker of the world. How
many nations and peoples have perished in the wars that trampled upon their
independence !

Thus, several centuries of groping for the guiding light of destiny has at last come
to an end.

3. "Man, Know Thyself!'

An ancient Greek comedian once exclaimed, "How beautiful man will be when he
is manlike!" This remark may be interpreted in different ways. Philosophically, it may
be interpreted as 'man must be worthy of man,' that is, man must live true to his nature.

For man to lead a life worthy of humankind there arises, above all, the question,
what is the meaning of man's existence?

Socrates regarded man's moral nature, his ethical values, as the focal problem of
philosophy, and called upon people to follow the maxim, 'Man, know thyself! ' This
maxim, which was engraved on a column of the Apollo temple in Delphi, spurred
philosophers, theologians and artists in all countries and ages to speculate, debate and
research, expending enormous time and energy. But no one was able to give a correct
answer to the question, what is man? That is why, perhaps, Rousseau said, "Of all
knowledge, that about man is the most useful but the poorest one, I think."

There goes a saying, "When one knows others and himself, one is ever victorious.
When one does not know others but knows oneself, one scores one victory and one
defeat. When one knows neither others nor oneself, one suffers defeat in every battle."
The tragedy of man not leading a life worthy of humankind is because man has lived
without knowing himself.

The enigma of man's existence was solved by the Juche philosophy.

A Japanese statesman has said:

"Man has a million year-long history but did not know himself. Man came to know
his nature thanks to the intelligence of His Excellency President Kim II Sung, genius of
geniuses, born in the 20' century in Korea, and His Excellency Kim Jong II,
the representative of the future of mankind. All men, whether they live in the East or in
the West, ought to tender their gratitude to them for elucidating the nature of man."

When man lives true to his nature, he can be said to lead a life worthy of
humankind. Living true to human nature serves as a yardstick to measure the level of
beauty, value, happiness and justice in human life.

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Man is neither an angel nor an animal. Therefore, neither the fatalistic life that
one may lead, binding oneself to strict religious commandments or asceticism and
finding mental comfort in resigned hope for after-death happiness, nor the
impulsive life that one may lead, eating and drinking as one pleases and seeking
only momentary pleasure, is the genuine human life. Neither the life of exploiters,
those who live on others' blood and sweat, nor the slavish life of those who are
meekly exploited by others is a life worthy of man.

From the failure to live true to his nature there arise all kinds of human tragedies, as
evident in a slavish life, a beastly life or a parasitic life.

Human history, which is thousands of years old, is chequered with human tragedies.
People have led a slave-like existence, subjected to humiliations, maltreatment and
sufferings, and mired in the quagmire of fatalism. Some have turned to the j oy s of sex,
regarding a dissipated life as the pleasure of human life; some others, who have been in
power, have led brutish lives, plundering, killing and bleeding others white. These
tragedies resulted from the lack of man's knowledge of himself.

Man has long been prey to fatalism and the mysteries of religion.

Christianity preaches that God Jehovah created the first man, Adam, with clay and
the first woman, Eve, with ribs that were removed from Adam's body while he was
asleep. To lend credence to the theory, Pope Gregory VIII of the Roman Catholic
Church said that man was created in 5 1 99 BC. An English theologian went so far as to
indicate the time of human creation, 10 am on the 23 r of October, 4004 BC!

In India it is believed that God Yama had a twin-sister called Ami and that man was
born through them who were possessed of both masculinity and feminity and the
ability to split themselves.

No matter what the details of human origin are, occultism preaches, after all, that
man was created by God, that he is a powerless being at the mercy of God's will, and
that his is a fatalistic existence destined to entrust his destiny to God.

Other views about man, which have exerted a great influence on human life, are
the biological and eroticist views. There are many varieties of these views, but their
essence is that man as a being is dominated by his instincts. The pragmatist John
Dewey said, "Man is an instinctive biological being which can maintain its life by
adapting itself to the living environment." Pragmatism postulates that man is born

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with immutable "acquisitive", "bellicose" and "hiding" instincts, and that man acts
according to the "selective taste" of these instincts. Thus it justifies aggression and
plunder on the ground of human instinct. In effect, it lays the philosophical base for
the "American way of life".

The social psychologist Sigmund Freud said that "sexual instinct (libido)" is
inherent in man and controls all human activity. Drawing upon the ancient Greek
myth about Oedipus who killed his father and married his mother, not knowing that
the latter were his parents, Freud named this unconscious sexual instinct in humans
the Oedipus complex, and traced the motives of human action to it. Attributing all
the causes of social evils to the suppression of the "sexual instinct", Freudians
preach that "sexual liberation" is the panacea for all such evils. Freud himself lived
a dissipated life, touring various European countries and preaching "sexual
liberation". In the 1920s idle rich women in capitalist countries are said to have
been so influenced by Freud that they believed they would be happy if they were
embraced by him just once.

Another view about man that has exercised an evil influence on contemporary
human life is the existentialist view. It qualifies man as an "individual isolated from all
social relations" and characterizes the present age as that of "human crisis".
Existentialists say, "There is a cliff behind man and a dark abyss in front of him. Even
the ground he is standing is giving." Such being his situation, man is seized with
uneasiness and fear of death. The only way open to him is that of sorrow, pessimism
and degradation. A maniacal existentialist once said, "We are convicts of life who
have been sentenced to death and are waiting for their turn." Existentialism therefore
advocates full enjoyment and hedonism, saying that it is in human nature to enjoy
every moment: "Enjoy every moment while we are alive because we do not know
tomorrow"; "Let's eat and drink as we please instead of building, accumulating and
endeavouring for society and posterity. Because we will die tomorrow". It further says:
"You and I are destined to die. Why should we strive to live and fight against others?";
"The only way to evade the horrible reality is not resistance to the reality but suicide."
After all, existentialism aims at paralyzing the spirit of independence among people
and making them powerless beings, obsessed only with "death", instead of being
committed to the struggle for freedom and democracy. My advice to the miserable

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existentialists, who regard considerateness and beneficience for others as of no good,
would be to kill themselves first, if only to avoid the "pain of an isolated individual."
Then we would hail their "death" as a "paean to existentialism". The height of
ridiculousness!

There is, then, the philosophy of mammonism, which holds that egoism urges man
to all his actions. This is a reactionary view that justifies the almighty dollar and the
law of the jungle in capitalist society.

As a matter of course, there have also been some good theories that have been
thrown up in the course of elucidating human nature philosophically. The following
views express some of these: "Man is an animal with reasoning power", "Man is a
thinking being", "Man is a being with speech", "Man is a working being". There is no
doubt that thinking, language, labour and reasoning power are qualities that belong
only to man. But these theories do not give an answer to the question of why man
works and how man has acquired the powers of thinking, language and reasoning.

Kim Jong II said:

"The question of man had been also discussed a great deal by preceding
philosophies, but it was confined mostly to abstract views of man, outside the context
of social relations."

In the past the theory about the real nature of man could not be perfected on a
scientific basis, because it was examined in the abstract, apart from his social
relations.

The Marxist philosophy considered the question of the real nature of man in terms
of his social relations for the first time. But it only underlined that man is a material
being of society and did not clarify the essence of a social being as distinct from a
natural being, and why man has to work and live forming social relations.

The Juche philosophy elucidated that man is a social being with the essential
attributes of independence, creativity and consciousness. This was the first perfect
scientific exposition of man in the long history of philosophy and put an end to the
tragedy of man living without knowing himself.

It can be rightly claimed that the Juche philosophy has given rise to a history of
man leading a life worthy of himself, knowing himself.

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4. The Promethean Myth and the Independence of Man

In the 1930s a song used to be sung in Korea:

Man is born with the right to freedom

When man is named as such.

Man with no right to freedom is as good as dead.

Life may be given up, but not freedom.

On close examination, the words of this song reveal a profound meaning: that it is
in human nature to live freely, unbound by anything.

No one in the world wishes to live a life of subjugation and submission.

Independence, namely, the desire to live freely as master of the world and of one's
own destiny, is essential to human nature. Independence is an essential attribute of
social man, as distinct from animals which live by adapting themselves to the objective
world. Therefore, to lose one's liberty and live subjugated to others means to lead an
animal-like existence. That is why people who are aware of themselves as social
beings defend their independence at the risk of their lives.

From ancient times, those who fought for freedom from subjugation and
restrictions, were respected and worshipped as heroes and as real men.

The desire for independence is dear and common to all men, and this may be why
enlightened intellectuals speak good of Prometheus mentioned in the ancient Greek
myths. Prometheus stole fire for man, deceiving Zeus, the king of gods, for which he
was punished by being bound to a rock on Mt Caucasus. Eagles flew down and pecked
at him in the liver in the daytime and every evening he suffered the pain of new cells
growing around the wounds. Zeus said to him, "If you repent your sin, I will spare your
life." But Prometheus remained defiant against the unjust gods, and replied: "I hate all
gods. I will not barter my sorrow for slavery under Zeus." Even today Prometheus is
said to be protesting, enduring the pain. This shows that people hold their right to live

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freely, without being subjected and shackled, dearer than their lives.

But in the past philosophers and philosophical ideas had failed to scientifically
elucidate the independent nature of man.

This was done for the first time by Kim II Sung and his theory was developed into
a scientific system by Kim Jong II.

Kim Jong II said:

"Man is a being with independence, that is, an independent social being."

Man is a social being whose essential attribute is independence, and he lives and
acts in an independent manner.

What are the reasons for this?

The first is that independence is a quality that only man, a social being, has. Other
living beings have only a biological need, that is, the instinctive need to live by
adapting themselves to the environment.

Animals live by adapting their structure and form to the environment. This
instinctive need is a need of biological individuality; so too, adaptation is a function of
the need of biological individuality.

It is true that man, too, has physical organs and is influenced by the environment.
But man lives and develops by breaking the fetters of nature and by remaking and
harnessing it rather than by adapting himself to the environment. If man is viewed as
merely a biological individual, he cannot have the desire for independence or demand
that he be allowed to live free from fetters as the master of the world and his own
destiny. Only a man who is aware of his being a member of society can demand
independence.

He alone who realizes that he is a member of a socio-political community can
understand the demand of the nation and the people for independence, and join their
struggle for freedom and democracy, believing in their strength.

Those who consider themselves primarily as individuals, irrespective of the
community they belong to, tolerate the servile life and at most remain onlookers of the
struggle for independence.

The second reason is that independence is not an individual attribute but a
fundamental quality manifested consistently in all human activity.

Independence is the basic motive of all human activity. All of man's actions begin

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with his demand for independence, for living free from fetters. Through this he
achieves the satisfaction of enlisting both his physical and mental energies. Human
labour or a social revolutionary movement, activities peculiar to man, derive from his
demand for independence, rather than instinct. These are activities to mould and
harness the objective world, to reshape nature and society and subjugate them to him.

The third reason is that independence is an attribute that is the life and soul of a
social being.

If man loses independence in society, he is as good as dead socially, although he
may continue to live physically. The life of a man who tolerates the yoke, and has his
human rights and right to existence trampled upon, differs little from the life of
animals which simply eat food, digest it, excrete and breed.

The act of liquidating social fetters and achieving independence can be conducted
only by a socio-political community. Only when man becomes a member of
socio-political community can he conduct activities to achieve independence and lead
a life worthy of humankind. Life as a member of a socio-political community means
socio-political integrity. Therefore, only when man has socio-political integrity can he
be a social being with independence.

How does independence manifest itself in practice?

Independence in relation to nature manifests itself in man breaking the fetters of
nature and harnessing it. It is revealed in the remaking of nature to make it serve man
by cognizing and using its laws and in the freeing of man from hard labour by making
labour easy and effective.

Independence in relation to society is shown in the struggle to reform and dominate
social relations and against the social yoke.

It is above all revealed in the struggle against national subjugation and repression
and class exploitation and oppression, and in the fight for national and class
independence.

After the Japanese occupation of Korea, Terauchi, the first Governor- General of
Korea, uttered strong words, "The Korean people shall obey the Japanese law or shall
die." The Korean nation responded by waging the anti-Japanese national liberation
struggle and at last achieved national liberation by driving out the Japanese
imperialists. This was a great victory for the Korean nation. The US army occupied

16

south Korea after the liberation of August 15, and have since exercised colonial rule
there. On August 8, 1980, Wickham, commander of the US forces in south Korea,
asserted: "The character of the south Korean people is like that of the lemming, so they
will follow anyone who becomes their leader. Democracy does not suit the south
Korean people." The south Korean people waged the struggle for democracy against
the US in protest. Wickham had mistaken the character of the Korean people. The
struggle against the May 10 separate election (1948), the February 7 national salvation
struggle (1948), the October popular resistance struggle (1946), the April 19 popular
uprising (1960), the popular uprising in Kwangju (1980) and other struggles that the
south Korean people waged after the liberation of August 1 5 were all struggles to not
only oust the pro-Japanese and pro-US traitors Syngman Rhee, Chun Doo Hwan and
Roh Tae Woo, but also for national independence, negating the US colonial rule.

Social independence manifests itself also in an active social life that is led
according to a plan on the basis of cognition of the laws governing social
development. Independence is also revealed in judging and deciding for oneself.

Independence is a quality of social man who progresses steadily. Man's need for
independent living steadily increases. When one requirement is satisfied, another is
put forth on the basis of the strength and ability that has been built up, then still another
after this one has been met, and so on.

Independence represents the position of man as the master of the world and of his
own destiny.

5. Man Knows Why He Labours

I would like to pose a question to the readers. "Why does man labour?" The
question may seem evident and easy, but it is not so simple. Some would answer that
man works in order to eat and live.

This may be an answer to why one should sell one's labour to the capitalist
and be forced to work for long hours in capitalist society but is not the proper

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answer to the question why man works.

In an exploitative society there are exploiters and privileged men who disdain
labour, wallowing in luxury and idling. It is in the nature of this society that if one does
not sell one's labour one cannot support oneself and one's family, and that the products
of labour become a means of domination over workers, not a means for their
well-being.

Essentially, labour is a sacred and honourable human activity meant to provide
man with convenient living conditions and bountiful means of living.

A society in which labour is despised, its essence distorted, and the products of
labour misused as a means of dominating and exploiting the workers, is a distorted
society.

Labour is an activity deriving from the nature of social man to realize his
independence. This aim and mission of genuine human labour is distorted in an
exploitative society because of its contempt for labour.

Only when one has a deep understanding of the essence and mission of human
labour, can one realize why labour that tramples upon human independence is forced
upon man, and wage a struggle to recover honourable and worthy labour, independent
labour.

Exploiters despise and maltreat workers by saying:

Workers are inferior to the capitalists who are engaged in mental labour
because workers do physical labour. The bodies of workers are crude because they
have their muscles hardened through labour. The sons and daughters of capitalists
are white, soft and beautiful from the top to the toes. Therefore, workers and
capitalists fundamentally differ from each other. Capitalists are beautiful and
superior and have the quality of eminent dominators, whereas workers are mean
and inferior and are lowly beings, so they are poorly off.

The response to them is as follows:

Workers alone can have a sound and beautiful spirit, because they do not rob
others of anything, and because they produce social wealth and help and cooperate
with their colleagues, in the production of goods. The physique of workers is a
manlike balanced physique with muscles hardened through labour. The physique
of capitalists is not balanced because it is not hardened. The cast of their eyes is

that of those who lead a comfortable life at the expense of others' labour. They
look pale. They do exercises to get rid of their extra flesh. Their mentality is
depraved because they are not engaged in productive labour and only pursue profit.
They are full of vanity, egoism and greed. To seek a beautiful and honest mind
among capitalists is like seeking a pearl in a pigsty.

For genuine human labour, a beautiful and sound mental life and for the realization
and defence of human independence, it is necessary to do away with the contempt for
labour and with labour that tramples upon the independence of workers in a society
where mammonism prevails. For this purpose, the perverted society should be put
right.

Here is another answer: labour derives from human nature. There are quite a few
"Marxists" around us who turn away from social injustices and stick to dogmatism.
They say that labour presents the real nature of social man and thus confuse the correct
understanding of man's nature. The tenet is that labour is the first step of social activity
and created man himself.

In his work The Role of Labour in the Process of Evolution from Monkey to Man,
Engels said that labour is the first step of the social activity of man, that the process of
labour gave rise to thinking and language, and that in a certain sense labour created
man himself.

Needless to say that labour, thinking and language are qualities that distinguish
man from animals. But labour, the activity of social man, is a manifestation of the real
nature of man, not the nature itself.

What, then, is the essence, aim and mission of labour?

Marxism clarified that labour, the social material activity of man, underlies all
social relations. Thus it refuted all kinds of mystical views about social phenomena
and established the principle of historical materialism. But it failed to clarify why man
works and what is the aim and mission of labour, with man as its main agent.

Labour, in essence, is an independent activity to get rid of the yoke and fetters of
nature. In aim and mission, it is social activity to realize the independence of man.

This independent nature urges man to labour. The aim and mission of labour is to
occupy the position of the transformer and dominator of nature by creating
independent living conditions and means of production.

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Therefore, labour is the primary need of life for social man to fulfil his nature. As
such, it is honourable and sacred. In a word, it is the activity by which man occupies
the position of and plays his role as the master of the world and his own destiny. It is a
genuine human activity that is necessary to lead a life worthy of man.

Only by adopting such a view of the essence, aim and mission of labour, can
one make a correct analysis of the perverted reality and injustice of society and
correctly define the orientation and the ways for activities aimed at building a
society where man leads a life worthy of humankind.

A perfectly desirable society would be a society in which man enjoys ideal living
conditions and a plentiful material life through labour, and where labour is regarded as
honourable and sacred and as the primary need of life rather than obligatory.

6. Controversy between Makers of First Stone
Implements and Producers of Robots

Some people say that the "machine works"; others say, "man works." Let us
discuss whether it is man or machine that works.

The makers of stone implements say, "Man transforms nature to meet his needs
and makes instruments needed for labour. Stone instruments are means of labour for
man; they are an extension of his hand. Computers and robots, too, are means of labour
made by man on the basis of the knowledge and experience he acquired in the process
of labour activity. They are used according to the needs of human labour. Robots, in
essence, are a developed version of stone implements.

The makers of Robots say, "Robots work in place of man. They control his activity.
In the modern world with developed science and technology, robots have replaced
man."

The following old story will be helpful in settling this controversy.

Once upon a time there lived a landowner and a farmhand. One day the landowner
scolded the farmhand, "You eat a bowlful of boiled rice but do very little work."

20

Unable to endure the abuse, the farmhand replied, "I can't work. I'm getting ill due to
overwork." Getting angry at this, the landowner drove the farmhand out to the field,
saying, "You idiot! Is it you who works? It is the boiled rice that works". On going to
the field after a while, the landowner saw the farmhand lying down instead of working.
He shouted at him, "Bugger you! Are you not working?" The farmhand replied calmly,
"I've put the boiled rice on the furrow so that it can work a lot today." Another day the
farmhand was ploughing the field with yoked cattle. Making a round of the field, the
landowner was satisfied. "The cattle are working well", he said, and returned home.
Going to the field the next day, the landowner was surprised to see the farmhand
sleeping while the cattle were eating the crops. The landowner shouted in fury, "You
rascal! Why are you sleeping? Why do you not work?" The farmhand replied
composedly, "Didn't you say that the cattle are working well? So I put the cattle on the
field".

The landowner fired the farmhand and hired another farmhand in his place. The
landowner said to him, "Answer me. Is it cattle that do the work or man?" The latter
replied, "Of course it is man", and went away. The story spread to the village and the
landowner could not employ any more farmhands and went to ruin.

This is an old story exemplifies a profound philosophical problem.

It is man who remakes nature, and all the tools of labour and technologies are only
the means used by man; they have no creative ability of their own. In other words,
tools of labour and scientific and technical means are not only created by man but also
perform their function as a means of remaking nature only when they are associated
with and used by man. Otherwise they are as good as scrap iron.

Distortion of the relations between the means of labour and their creator is the logic
adopted by the exploiters who despise labour and incessantly exploit the labour of the
working people.

Man employs his creativity to remake nature. It is because man has creativity as his
essential quality, for attaining his independent needs.

Kim Jong II said:

"Man is a being with creativity, that is, he is a creative social being."

Creativity together with independence is essential attributes of the social man.

Independence is the basic source and motive of all human activity, urging man to

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action and deciding its aim and orientation, whereas creativity is an attribute of social
man and the driving force of his activity to transform the world and shape his own
destiny purposefully and in conformity with his independent needs.

Other living beings can only use things just as they are in nature and maintain their
existence by adapting themselves to nature. Animals, however developed they may be,
can not transform things for usage.

Monkeys acquire food by using stones or sticks, and beavers build dams with logs
of wood from trees that they cut down in order to protect their nest. How do we
interpret their activity? These are not creative activities but instinctive acts developed
in the course of adapting themselves to the environment. Animals which dig burrows
to live in them do so now just as they did several thousand years ago. The same is the
case with animals which live in nests. Monkeys use stones or sticks as they did ages
ago, but they cannot make or remake these tools.

Man creates a favourable environment for himself by making new things through
the remoulding of nature. Man can create favourable social conditions, realize his
independence and progress only when he establishes new social relations by reshaping
old social relations that are unsuited to his life.

The creativity of social man is manifested by his creative ability, which comprises
the knowledge, techniques, skill, experience and physical strength accumulated by him
socially and historically. Knowledge, techniques, skill and experience make it possible
for man to grasp the essence of the objects to be transformed, the laws governing their
development, and the methods to be employed in transforming them. Physical strength
is the physiological basis of man's creative ability. Thus, science and technology
combined with physical strength make up the creative ability in the social man.

A characteristic feature of the creative ability of social man is that it is used with a
certain orientation and purpose, and in a conscious and rational manner.

Creativity is an essential attribute of social man for various reasons. First, it is the
vital force that helps social man to shape the world and his own destiny. Man lives by
transforming nature and creating anew, whereas animals adapt themselves to nature
instinctively.

Man's creativity is part of the collective creativity of the community to which he
belongs socially. It is an ability that is socially and historically accumulated, inherited

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and developed. Animals develop in themselves the ability to adapt formed in the
process of individual adaptation and transmit to posterity. Unlike the animals, however,
man transmits the knowledge, techniques, skill and experience that he has accumulated
historically, to posterity by social education.

Secondly, creativity is the basic quality manifested in every process of human
activity. All human activity, in essence, is a creative endeavour towards realizing
independence. The creative ability of man to reform society is seen in the modes of
organizational and ideological cohesion of the people, whereas his creative ability to
remake nature is a product of accumulated knowledge, techniques, skill, experience
and physical strength.

The strength of the people who are banded together in a social community and
united with one idea and purpose presents a great creative force which can break the
resistance of old forces and reform society.

7. Advocates of "Human Crisis"

In recent years, with the development of science and technology there has been a
spread of "human crisis" theory over the western countries of the world.

Even as there is widespread automation of production and computerized economic
management, and as the creative energies of man have found a way to conquer space
and enter territories beyond this world, an alarm has been raised about "human crisis".

It warns that the rapid development of modern industry not only causes air, water
and earth pollution, which destroys the living environment of man, but also releases
colossal amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is resulting in global
warming. This threatens to thaw the vast icebergs in the polar regions, so that the globe
could be submerged in a 'second Noah's flood'. Worse still, the destruction of the
ozone layers might destroy all living substances on earth.

An American professor of genetics has said that the development of genetic
engineering is a feature of "human crisis". According to him, modern genetic

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engineering, through its scientific modification of genes, has made a toad, which is
nonreproductive, immobile and mute; when applied to man, it can convert him into a
being that is aware of nothing but working without resistance, like a working bee, or
fighting under the control of computer.

Advocates of the "new human machine theory" say that the automation of
production has reduced man to being an accessory of machines and brought about a
new, form of "alienation" of man wherein "machines dominate over people", so that
they become like "passengers in a shipwreck".

With the development of atomic power, man came to possess a third kind of fire. At
first, atomic power was developed for destructive purposes, for use as a weapon, which
reduced to ashes the residential quarters of a country in an instant.

Further, nuclear testing in air and water threatens the earth with nuclear pollution.

There are many research institutes such as the "Futurology Society" and the "21 st
Century Committee" in the western world, but they are all engaged in preaching
pessimism and decadence to future generations.

It is a fact that these phenomena that are a fall out of the development of science
and technology do endanger the existence and development of man. However, these
are not the essence of developing of science and technology. The "human crisis
theory" reflects, rather, the uneasiness and despair of the reactionary exploiting class,
who are futureless. It serves them as a means to leave the people uneducated and to
rationalize low wages, long working hours and retrenchment.

The true meaning of science and technology can be defined only through a correct
view of the world, that is, through the Juche -oriented outlook on the relationship
between man and the world.

Knowledge is an intellectual means to reshape and dominate the world; scientific
and technological means are tools for the creative activity of reforming the world.
Scientific and technological knowledge and means represent man's creative ability, his
strength to shape the world and his own destiny. Their development increases his
creative ability as much as it heightens his position and role as a dominator and
reshaper of the world. Their development is an index of the extent of domination over
and reform of the world by man, and the latter is inconceivable without the former.

The objective laws of progress and knowledge should not be ignored. Ignorance of

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these laws leads to failure in the reformation of nature.

The problem is that scientific and technological knowledge and means are not used
to realize the independence of man, but for other purposes. "Human crisis" is caused
by the reactionary exploiting classes who abuse the knowledge and means at their
disposal to bleed people white, to infringe upon the independence of peoples and
nations, to get maximum profits out of them and to keep them uneducated.

When scientific and technological knowledge and means are used in
accordance with their natural objectives, the position and role of man as the
dominator and reformer of the world are enhanced.

Marie Curie said the following at the Novel Prize award lecture of 1 903 : "Once in
the hands of a criminal, radium becomes very dangerous. So I wonder whether it is
good for man to know the secret of nature, or not, whether he or she is mature enough
mentally to use it profitably."

Leo Silas succeeded in establishing the first ever chain reaction of nuclear
fission during World War II. His research was used to manufacture atomic bombs,
which killed hundreds of thousands of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and
reduced both cities to ashes. On hearing of the catastrophe he gave up his research
work in physics.

In 1967 Robert Oppenheimer, who was in charge of the "Los Alamos Plan" for
experimenting on the first atomic bomb, was agonized at the vast destructive capacity
of the bomb which he himself had made. He said, "What we did has changed the
sphere of man's existence, but the use of the bomb, which has caused such a change is
up to governments, not to scientists."

In 1955 Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell published the "Russell-Einstein
Declaration", in which they said, "We might be living in the final age of mankind. If so,
the extermination of mankind will be due to science."

A scientist must first be a deep humanitarian, with a love for mankind. Only then
can his quest for scientific and technological knowledge contribute to the realization of
man's independence, and prevent infringement of man's independence.

If scientists are devoid of love for mankind, they would help the reactionary exploiting
classes to abuse scientific knowledge and means for encroaching upon man's
independence. Or they would merely remain indifferent to their practice. This would be a

25

grave crime against mankind. The reactionary exploiting classes try to bribe scientists who
lack a patriotic mind with dollars, or coerce them into such criminal activity.

At the "Asia-Pacific Peace Conference" held in October 1952, John Hilton
emphasized the role of a scientist in service of mankind: "I was directly involved in
manufacturing the A-bomb which was first dropped on Nagasaki. Now I feel guilty
about it and deeply ashamed of being part of a crime against mankind. When I think
back on why I had been involved in producing the A-bomb, I realize it was because I
believed in a wrong philosophy: "Science for science's sake". Owing to my mistake of
separating science from social life and mankind, I was involved in making A-bombs
during the war. I thought, "We, scientists, must be devoted to pure science. All other
things but science are the business of technocrats and politicians." I appeal to the
American and Japanese scientists who are now engaged in manufacturing atomic and
biological weapon 'Think hard about what you are doing.' "

Hilton's advice is a warning to scientists that they should have belief in the philosophy
of love for mankind. It also teaches the lesson that, although science has no class character,
they must be certain as to for whom science is used. Only when they have this certainly can
scientists orient their research towards realization of the independence of the people, with
patriotism and love for mankind. Scientific and technological knowledge and means have
the strength to realize the independence of man. Since these are created and used by man, it
must be ensured that they do not pose a threat to the people at large.

Today, the western powers of the world, including the US, have accumulated a
large number of nuclear warheads, enough to exterminate the whole of mankind 30
times over. Progressive peoples must strengthen their anti-nuclear, anti-war
struggle and conduct a vigorous fight to eliminate nuclear weapons throughout the
world.

This is a matter of greater urgency with respect to Korea. Successive rulers of
south Korea have increased the danger of nuclear war in the Korean peninsula.
Ex -President Kim Young Sam did not hesitate to prattle that if during the June 25
war A-bombs had been dropped according to MacArthur's insistence, unification
would have been accomplished. "Human crisis" is brought about not by
technological development itself but by reactionary rulers who turn their backs on
the independence of the people and go against the progress of history.

26

"Human crisis" is to be blamed on these rulers, who swim against the tide of history, and
also on scientists, destitute as they are of patriotism or love for their people, and obsessed as
they are by the wrong philosophy of "science for science's sake" and "pure science".

8. "The Myth of Sisyphus'

An aimless move or fruitless endeavour is often exemplified by the "myth of Sisyphus".

According to this mythological story of ancient Greece, Sisyphus, the king of
Corinth, was punished for his betrayal of Zeus, the king of the gods: he was forced to
roll a big stone up a steep hill, but before it reached the top of the hill the stone would
always roll down, and he was therefore doomed to rolling the stone forever.

The myth of Sisyphus illustrates that the heaviest punishment man can be subjected
to aimlessly keep repeating a monotonous action, and that when a man loses his
purposefulness and consciousness, he becomes a being inferior to an animal. There is a
saying, "Even a beast avoids the trap into which it has once fallen". But Sisyphus was
ordained by fate to continually repeat his monotonous action without any resistance or
search for a goal.

Why is it the gravest punishment for man to take away purposefulness and
consciousness from him?

Man is a being with consciousness; consciousness enables him to be superior to
and more powerful than all other beings, and is an attribute inherent in man alone.

Man is a social being who has independence, creativity and consciousness as his
essential attributes.

Kim Jong II said:

"Man is a being with consciousness, that is, a conscious social being."

Consciousness is a function of the brain: conceptual consciousness in man is a means
of reflecting the world, whereas ideological consciousness is an attribute of man that
determines, controls and regulates all his endeavours. In a nutshell, ideological
consciousness is an attribute of social man, which determines all his endeavours to

27

understand and reshape the world and himself.

On close observation, the skill of bees building hives or spiders spinning cobwebs
would put the most competent architects and weavers to shame. However, even the
clumsy skills of architects and weavers as reflected in their labour are far superior to
the dexterity of bees and spiders.

Before weaving, a weaver thinks of the yarn's quality, the design and every
weaving process and visualizes the goods to be produced from it. Similarly, when an
architect builds even a humble house, he preconceives its structure, makes his design
and foresees the outcome. Animals do not have the ability to conceive, design and
foresee. Man's activity is purposeful and conscious, while that of animals is instinctive
and unconscious.

The feature that distinctly differentiates man's actions from that of animals is the
consciousness of man.

Of course, since man is also a living being, he has some instinctive needs, such as
eating and sleeping. Animals act according to their instinctive needs, never able to
repress these, but man, a social being aware of social relations and the demands of
social life, controls his instinctive needs and activity.

Some say that animal acrobatics seem to be conscious acts. At the zoo, we can see
the interesting antics of a chimpanzee. The chimpanzee sweeps the yard with a broom,
brings a dinner table and bowls at the caretaker's bell, eats food with a spoon, removes
the dinner table, bows to the caretaker or gets angry at amused spectators. However,
these acts are neither purposeful nor conscious, but are no more than aimless behaviour
prompted by the second nature or habit noticeable among trained animals, while the
acts of bees and spiders are prompted by the first nature or instinct. An untrained
chimpanzee would not use bowls and spoons even if they were placed near it.

The wonderful behaviour of animals at the zoo are all habitual acts, acquired
through continuous training. Just a little alteration in the act's sequence, in the shape or
colour of the tools and in the signals given, would be enough to make the animal
utterly confused.

In what way does consciousness, the essential attribute of social man, find
expression?

First, man subordinates all his activities to the aim of understanding his environment

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and himself in order to realize his independent needs and interests.

Thus, unlike the behaviour of animals, human action has a conscious goal.

Second, human consciousness finds expression in determining man's will and
ability to undertake practical activities.

Because he has consciousness, man can display persistence and courage
throughout to attain his goal.

The will power and fighting capacity that are displayed in human activities are
expressions of man's consciousness, based on the awakening of independent needs.

It follows, therefore, that the gravest of crimes against man would be to paralyze or
emasculate his consciousness.

The greatest expression of love for man would be to awaken in him a sense of his
independent demands and lead him to the struggle to live a life worthy of mankind, as
master of his own destiny.

9. Man Cannot Be a "Donkey"

The human brain can never have a blank.

Consciousness of independence or subordination, collective spirit or individualism
or egoism-any of these constantly seize man's brain.

It is commonly acknowledged that ideological consciousness plays an important
role in human activity.

It is the Juche idea that crystallized and developed this role as a theory of ideology .

In the history of philosophy, there have been many debates about the role of
ideological consciousness. Idealism mystified the role of consciousness, and
pre -Marxist materialism ignored it. According to Marxism, the social being
determines social consciousness, and the latter reacts to the former.

The limitations in the Marxist understanding of the role of ideological
consciousness are as follows. First, it regards this as a mere reflection of social
material relations and thus hardly ever distinguishes the essence of the thought

29

from general knowledge. Second, it regards ideological consciousness as the
relation between consciousness and the objective world.

The theory of ideology established by the Juche philosophy, first, separates thought,
a reflection of man's needs and interests, from general knowledge, a reflection of the
objective world.

Knowledge and thought differ from each other in their source and content.

The source of knowledge is objective phenomena, whereas that of thought is the
social needs of man. The content of knowledge comprises the essence and laws of
movements of phenomena, whereas that of thought is the interests of social man.

Second, the theory of ideology suggests a relation of ideological consciousness to
human activity instead of to the objective world, and makes clear its role of initiative in
human activity, instead of its "reaction" to the objective world.

The Juche idea elucidates that man is master of the world and takes his own
decisions about everything. This idea plays a decisive role in enabling man to take the
position of the master and to carry out this role fully and responsibly.

Some scholars insist that the theory of ideology is idealism; that "the idea decides
everything" means that the idea decides the existence of the world and its movement
and development. I cannot but laugh at their ignorance. They do not have the ability to
understand that it is ideological consciousness which decides man's activity and that
the theory of ideology clarifies the relation between ideological consciousness and
man's activity rather than the relation between consciousness and the world.

Kim Jong II said:

"Ideological consciousness determines and regulates all actions of man"

This is because ideological consciousness reflects the needs and interests of social
man.

First of all, it determines the purpose and direction of man's actions, that is,
realization of his needs and interests in life.

An egoistic man pursues only individual ease and selfish pleasures, and lives and
acts regardless of his motherland or national independence.

A man who possesses an ideological consciousness that reflects the independent
needs and interests of the social man aims at realizing the independence of the nation,
and that of the people in general, in his life and actions.

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Moreover, ideological consciousness helps man determine the means he should
use and how to use it in order to achieve his aim.

Man conducts his creative activities using the means at his disposal and his
physical and mental strength.

Since ideological consciousness reflects the requirements of and interests in life, it
is a yardstick by which man chooses the means for gaining his object and it determines
the style and method in which man exercises his physical and mental strength.

A man obsessed with egoism seeks only private ease and pleasure and employs
even criminal methods by means of money to attain his goal: when he faces a critical
situation he may give up his objective halfway, or change his colour. This is the mode
of behaviour of egoists. An egoist considers it profitable to save his life even if he fails
to gain his goal in the process. He can never possess a strong will and principles or
fidelity.

People who have an independent ideological consciousness are aware that the most
powerful means to realize the independence of the masses is not money or gold, but
their creative power. They give full play to the creative strength of the masses and
display a strong will in seeking solutions to any problem. They deem it an honour to
devote their life to such a cause.

Pak Jong Choi in south Korea, who joined the fight against military fascism,
sacrificed his life in the struggle for independence, democracy and reunification. He said
"Even today the wheels of history are turning restlessly. But the relationship between
history and me or that between the world and me differs in its meaning according to
whether I regard myself as an active subject or a passive object. The masters of the world,
that is, the subjects of history are none other than the popular masses." He declared his
conviction as follows. "They can by no means fetter my ideas and faith even though they
have imprisoned me."

The fact that ideological consciousness determines man's actions means that it
plays a decisive role in his struggle to shape his own destiny. The independent
ideological consciousness reflects the independent nature of man, that is, his need to
live as the master of the world and of his own destiny, free from all kinds of
subjugation.

It is worthwhile noting that in class society, the ideological consciousness of

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people assumes a class character, for their needs and interests in life are based on their
class status. The interests of social collectives differ according to their class status, but
the case is not the same for individuals. The individual's ideological consciousness is
determined, in many cases, by the education and training he has received. Although it
is based on his class status, it need not always be determined by it. History has shown
many instances of men who belonged to the exploiting class devoting themselves to
the struggle for the independence of the popular masses, vaulting over the barrier of
their class, once they became aware of the reactionary nature of their class and
accessed progressive ideas.

Flunkeys and traitors who would sell the nation's independence to outside forces in
order to hold on to power, and the reactionary exploiting class that would trample upon
the people's independence to gain personal profit, want only obedient slaves whose
sole purpose is to eke out their living. In other words, they need only men who work
themselves to death, like donkeys under the yoke. They call these slaves "diligent
men" and "good people", even as they adopt every means and method to imbue them
with egoism and non-resistance.

This is totally unacceptable to the masses of the people as their idea even if it is forced
upon them, because it is an idea opposed to the inherently independent nature of man.

10. Robinson Crusoe and Children Reared by a Wolf

If independence, creativity and consciousness are the essential attributes of man,
the question arises as to how he comes to acquire them.

Here is an interesting story from real life. In 1 920 two children were found living
under the care of a wolf in the woods near Gotamuri village in India. One of them was
estimated to be 8 years of age or so, the other was much younger. Perhaps they were
raised on milk from the mother wolf, when they were babies. They were taken to an
orphanage; the younger child soon died, but the older boy, named Garmara, survived.
At the beginning his nature was similar to that of a wolf: he bit into food instead of

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using his hands, in the daytime he either slept or sat around absent mindedly, but in the
night he barked like a beast. He could not speak, nor understand what people said. He
walked on all fours and was so fast in his movement that it was difficult to catch up
with him. Even two years after he had been in the orphanage, if given a dead chicken to
eat, he would take it to the woods and nibble on it. After five years he could just about
stand on his two feet and say two or three words.

Garmara did not have any social attributes because he had lived his early years
isolated from society even though he was born of human parents.

This story exemplifies that the essential attributes of man are neither god-given nor
hereditary.

It goes without saying that man has a developed organism different from that of
animals. However, a developed organism in itself does not give rise to social qualities. It is
only the material context and biological conditions that enable him to acquire these.

It is wrong to believe that the social qualities of man are formed in the course of
biological evolution. They take shape and develop in social relations.

Kim Jong II said:

"Independence, creativity and consciousness are man's social qualities which take
shape and develop socially and historically."

As he lives and grows up in society, man forms social relations, receives social
education and acquires material and mental wealth accumulated by mankind. He also
undertakes creative activity to realize his independence, using the material and mental
wealth.

If man is completely isolated from society, he cannot have independence, creativity
and consciousness.

Some may try to refute the above thesis with the story of Robinson Crusoe. The
novel Robinson Crusoe by Danial Defoe, is a fictional account of the adventures of
Selkirk, who lived alone for many years in Tomago Island in the Caribbean Sea, then a
desert island. In the novel Robinson Crusoe lives alone for 26 years, separated from the
human world. He builds a hut, tames goats, makes clothes and shoes out of the skin of
wild animals, cultivates crops and builds a boat with logs. In order not to forget his
mother tongue, he gives names to things around him and speaks to himself. Evidently,
he is a social man with independence, creativity and consciousness. How can his

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actions be explained, in comparison to those of the wolf -boy Garmara. Robinson
Crusoe's independent consciousness and creative ability were neither inherited when
he was born, nor formed after he landed on the island. Before going to the island, he
had already gained all kinds of knowledge and experience through social education; he
carried a gun, gun powder and a knife; he was wearing clothes and shoes that were
embodiments of social creative ability. He was a man with the independence and
consciousness that society had given to him, though he lived all alone on an isolated
island. That is why he was able to exploit the natural resources of the island in
accordance with his needs of life, create the required living conditions and acquire
daily necessities on the desert island and thus survive for long years. If he had not
possessed social qualities but only instinctive adaptability, he could not have remained
alive under such suddenly changed circumstances.

This is a point that needs to be emphasized. Although social qualities are formed in
social relations, not all beings can acquire social qualities even if they are brought up in
human society.

Many people in Europe breed dogs as pets. They squander huge sums of money on
clothing them in shoes, caps and necklaces, on providing them with high-class beds to
sleep on and special dishes to feed on, but the dogs remain dogs. They do not acquire
social qualities. This is because dogs do not have the biological basis that helps them
attain social qualities.

Man alone has the physical structure and biological basis that enable him to acquire
social attributes and assume charge of social relations.

Independence, creativity and consciousness are social qualities that take shape and
develop in social relations. Their content and level are determined by the level of
social education man receives and by the practical activity he undertakes.

11. Social Collective and I

The fact that man is a social being means that he is a collective being.

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Man's essential feature is that he is a collective and social being with independence,
creativity and consciousness.

When man is said to be a social being, it means that he is a being who lives in a
collective, that is, he is a collective being.

There may be different kinds of tragedy in human life, but, of them, the greatest is
to be forsaken by and isolated from society.

So it is said, "The most dreadful agony in the world is loneliness. It is like death."

Kim Jong II said:

"Man alone in the world lives and conducts activity in social relationship. He
maintains his existence and achieves his aim only socially."

A social being is a being who maintains his existence only by establishing social
relations and who lives and conducts activities to achieve his aim only through social
relations. In other words, a social being is a being who lives and acts to achieve a
common aim through social cooperation.

A social being, above all, is a member of a social collective. A social collective is
an organization of people united on the basis of common goals and interests. Therefore,
when man is referred to as a social being, it means that he is a member of a social
collective who makes the common requirements and interests of the collective his own.
Man being a member of a social collective is his basic qualification, basic index to
being a social man.

Some collectives outline the common requirements and interests of a collective
based on consanguinity and put forward these requirements as the fundamental need of
its members; some suggest national independence as the common need, setting its
realization as principal need of each member. Other collectives raise the realization of
class independence as their basic demand, with each member putting it up as a
fundamental demand. However, a collective of people linked on the basis of egoism
cannot be an organic group, because the egoistic demand of each member of the group
is always raised as the primary requirement, and each member is integrated into or
separated from the collective according to his egoistic demand, which varies according
to circumstances.

If the common needs and interests of the collective do not accord with the basic
ones of each individual, a social collective or human society cannot be formed.

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A collective is not a mere crowd of people and just because a group of people are
united socially, it does not become a collective. People at the market place cannot be
called a social collective. They are socially linked through the activity of buying and
selling goods, but they are not a collective of people organically linked by congruence
of purpose and interests.

Also, a social being conducts activity to remake nature and renovate society, using
the material and mental wealth accumulated by mankind. In other words, man cannot
create material or mental means and living conditions by himself alone. He is a
collective or social being who cannot live alone; he can only live in cooperation, by
forming a collective.

Only by establishing social relationships and relying on the strength of social
collectives, could man distance himself from the natural world and transform it
favourably for himself.

Regarding the issue of how mankind was able to escape from and establish control
over the natural world which threatened to overwhelm man with formidable force,
anthropologists and historians cite such important landmarks in the progress of human
beings as the discovery of fire and the manufacture of tools. But what is more
important than these is the fact that man lived a collective life.

Man, in the course of his evolution, struggled against beasts and the
formidable force of nature by forming social collectives. The fight against beasts
was a very serious question of survival. There was no consciousness of "I" or of
individuality in the original collectives of people formed in the course of the
struggle against the strong forces of nature. Becoming a member of a collective
was indispensable for their existence; the collective need was synonymous with
the primary need for existence as individuals. Individuals who separated from the
collective could not remain alive in the fight against nature. Only when human
beings formed themselves into social collectives could they face the natural
forces. They became social beings by transforming nature in accordance with
their requirements, not by merely adapting themselves to it. This shows that
man's collective and social life was the basic source of his divergence from and
domination of the natural world.

In view of this, we should steer clear of wrong explanations about man as a social

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being, and of wrong and harmful conceptions about man's real nature.

Explaining social living as "coexistence and symbiosis", a conservative scholar
said: "The main aspect of the existence of human beings is coexistence with
neighbouring people. That we exist in this world means that we all live together.
Therefore, becoming a human being means existing together. "

When we say that man is a social being, it presupposes that he lives in a
neighbourhood. But this cannot be the defining feature of a social being. In the
natural world bees and ants live in swarms and Anomura and Actiniaria are
symbiotic.

"Coexistence and symbiosis" is a law of nature as well as "jungle law", and results
from the instinctive adaptation of animals to their environment. Conservative
theologians who point to "existing in a nieghbourhood" and "coexistence and
symbiosis" as the defining features of a social being, actually persuade people into
putting up with exploitation and oppression, and master-servant relationships, while
jabbering on about philanthropy.

However, conscientious religionists believing in "modern theology" insist that the
salvation of individuals is realized by social "salvation" and that social "salvation" is
attained through a radical change of the social system. Meanwhile, they say, one
should not look at social communities and individuals as separate entities. Father
Camilro Tores of Colombia, who died while fighting in the Che Guevara-led guerrilla
unit, wrote in his book Mission of Christians, "I did not abandon my position as a
priest. I participated in the revolution because of my Christian love for my
neighbours."

Existentialism, which was once wide spread, erected an insurmountable barrier
between the collective and the individual, separating one from the other and making
them confrontationist. It said that "the human being is a semi-social individual", "a
collective or collectiveness eliminates the individuality of human beings," and "a
human being is born as an individual, lives as an individual and dies as an individual. If
a human being is no more than an individual, he is only an incompetent biological
being blindly obeying his surrounding environment."

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12. If Man Is to Play His Role

If man is to play his due role in life, it is imperative for him to be part of a social
collective.

The most essential criterion of man as a social being is that he regards the common
needs of the social collective as his basic need and devotes himself to its realization. It
can be said that from ancient times the man who devoted his life to the collective has
been respected as a true human being.

When looked at from this angle, that is, if the man who upholds the common needs
of the social collective, or the independent needs and interests of the popular masses,
as his fundamental need and who undertakes activities for their realization is a genuine
man, it is easy to see who is an inhuman being.

A Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, for example, forced 100,000 slaves to build 148
pyramids out of 6,000,000 tons of stones for 30 years in order to attain eternal bliss in
"the other world" after death. Even today there exist similar people.

It is said that ex-Emperor Pu Yi of Manchukuo was a puppet in politics as well as in
his private life. He would eat food and wear clothes with the help of others. Such
parasites who revel in idleness cannot be men of creativity; they live off others' blood.
Parasitism is a property inherent among the privileged strata.

If man is to perform his mission as a social being, he has to enhance his
independence, creativity and consciousness. If he does not make efforts in this
direction, he cannot play his role as a genuine human being.

In a certain country the question was once raised: "Are you a man?" People would
answer, "I'm a man." But grammatically, it would be correct for a boy to answer in the
future tense: "I shall be a man", for a middle-aged person to respond in the present
tense: "I am a man', and for an old man to say "I was a man", in the past tense. This
involves a deeper meaning. It suggests that only when a man discharges his duty as a
man, can he be said to be a man. How should man conduct his life in order to live up to
his role?

He must fully perform his duties as a social human being with independence,

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creativity and consciousness. Only then can he be said to be a genuine man.

If man is to devote himself to society, he must increase his independence, creativity
and consciousness.

The man-centred Juche idea explains the history of the struggle for independence
of the nation and of the popular masses and the lessons to be drawn from it, and casts
light on the way for its realization. Only when man fully understands and adopts the
Juche idea and the methods for its attainment, can he truly perform his mission and
role.

Unless man enhances his own independence and ideological consciousness, he
cannot fulfil the need for independence of the popular masses and readily come out to
join the struggle for the realization of this independence. If he fails to acquire
knowledge about the lawfulness of social change and the strategy and tactics to be
adopted for it, he cannot fulfil his duty towards society and may be a liability, instead,
in realizing the independence of a social collective.

When man increases his independence, creativity and consciousness through
persistent cultivation and practice, he can lead a worthwhile human life and say
proudly, "I'm a man."

13. Dominator and Transformer of the World

Even today, there are many people in the world who have their fortunes told and
rely on shamans to exercise evil spirits from their homes.

Such practices are no more than the self-consolation of those who are obsessed
with the wrong conception that they can live only by relying on mysterious forces to
relieve them of the agony of reality.

No other being but man can subordinate and dominate the world.

Kim Jong II said:

"Man, a social being who has independence, creativity and consciousness, is the
only dominator and remaker of the world."

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The world is the object of domination and transformation by man-this is the
Juche -oriented view on the world in relation to man.

The unscientific nature of idealism, which believes that a "god" or "heaven"
dominates the world and that history and the destiny of man are decided by the will of
some "superbeing", has been proved by the Juche -oriented viewpoint of the world. At
the same time, the limitations of materialism, which regards man as one of several
material beings and says that his destiny is decided in accordance with the
development of the objective material world, in particular, the laws of socio-economic
development, have been overcome by the Juche view.

The world is filled with numerous and multifarious things and beings. However, in
terms of a world view that is helpful in carving out the destiny of man, these may be
divided into two categories-man and his environment. Consciousness is an attribute of
man and is not an independent entity. Man acts in this world with consciousness to
carve out his destiny.

First, because man is a social being with independence, he views the world in a
revolutionary manner, not fatalistically. Natural phenomena do not have a conscious
need for existence and do not undertake their substantial activities to realize it. They
only act, depending on and restricting each other.

However, through his independent activity, man makes nature serve him and
changes social relations in favour of himself.

There is no being in the world that can subordinate and dominate man.

Here is an anecdote.

Kurihara, daughter of the Japanese warder of Lushun prison, where the Korean
martyr An Jung Gun was punished to death, built a shrine for him in her room and
worshipped him for 31 years.

This was because, after An Jung Gun's death her family's condition became worse
and worse: her elder sister died 30 minutes after she fell ill; her mother died
unexpectedly while asleep; her eldest son suffered from dementia; her second son had
trouble with lung disease; and her daughter, who had been married into an aristocratic
family, returned home due to ill-treatment. Kurihara hoped, by her worship, to mollify
the spiteful soul of An Jung Gun and save her family from continuing misfortune.

However, the misfortunes of Kurihara's family were caused neither by An Jung

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Gun's spiteful spirit nor any other mysterious force. By holding a service for the dead An
Jung Gun, Kurihara acknowledged the crimes of the Japanese who had plundered and
killed Koreans and that they would be punished by history.

Second, as man is a social being with creativity, he relates to the world as an active
agent, not passively. He always acts on other things in the process of remaking the
world in keeping with his needs. This is man's way of existence.

In the natural world, things and other beings act blindly and spontaneously; there
is no entity among them that remakes other things purposefully.

Just as migrating birds, such as swallows and wild geese, maintain their existence
by flying thousands of kilometres as the season changes to seek new nesting places,
so other living creatures preserve their existence by adapting themselves to their
surrounding circumstances. Therefore, the relationship between man and other
creatures cannot but be one of domination and transformation by man.

Third, since man is a social being with consciousness, he remakes the world
purposefully, not instinctively.

In nature, there is neither any being with the consciousness that functions as a
controller of one's activity, nor conscious activity. The relationship between a
conscious being and an unconscious being is thus inevitably a relation of domination
and transformation.

In short, the relation between man and natural phenomena and other creatures of the
world is that between an independent being and a dependent being, that between a creative
being and a passive being, that between a conscious being and an instinctive being.
Accordingly, the domination and transformation of the world by man is a relation defined
by the essential characteristics of man.

In connection with this, one point needs to be stressed. When it is considered man
is the single dominator of the world, it should by no means be taken to mean that man
is at the centre of the world. The world is boundless in space and eternal in time.
Therefore, the world cannot have any centre. In the natural sciences a relative spatial
centre can be postulated for the purposes of studying the features of a thing, for
convenience's sake, but philosophically, there can be no temporal or spatial centre.

The man-centred Juche worldview has no relation with the idealistic
understanding which places man at the centre of the world and ignores the existence

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of objective subjects; it runs contrary to the latter. The former elucidates the relations
between man and his surrounding world on the premise of the objective existence of
the material world and its lawful movement.

The multifarious things and phenomena that comprise the world form very
complex and varied relations with each other; however, they do not exist in confusion
or as accidents. The material world moves and develops in accordance with definite
objective laws, and man remakes and dominates the world in keeping with his
requirements, cognizing and using these laws.

The fact that the world is dominated and remade by man is an absolute truth
proved through practice.

The destructive forces of nature which threaten the existence of man change into
forces that serve man by the application of his labour and wisdom. Natural resources
that have remained beyond man's reach so far are being prospected and developed by
man's hands and converted into the means of life and productive means. Man also
produces machines and equipment that nature does not have, and remakes nature
itself, dominating the land, sky and sea.

Society too is dominated by man. This is revealed by the fact that the level of
national and class consciousness of man is continually enhanced, and that social
relationships which violate his independence are changed into relationships that
ensure man's independence. Thus, both nature and society are remade and dominated
by man; man's sphere of domination rapidly expands with the passing of time.

Indeed, the man-centred Juche view of the world overcame the limitation and
one-sidedness of the philosophical conception which regards the world as the material
circumstances controlling man, and clarified that the world is the object of domination by
man and thus cast light on the way to carving out man's destiny.

14. The Law of the Domination of the World and
Its Transformation and Development by Man

When man is said to be the sole dominator and remaker of the world, the problem

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of what is the universal law of domination of the world by man and of its
transformation and development is raised as an important matter of concern to people
who rise in struggle to carve out their destinies.

The main point about the lawfulness of domination and development of the world
by man is that firstly the world is converted into serving man only through man's own
vigorous and active struggle.

Circumstances are not always favourable to man. But unfavourable circumstances
can be changed into favourable ones through man's active efforts to change them.
Waiting for the time when favourable circumstances will be created of their own
accord is the attitude of slaves who adapt to given circumstances. Even favourable
circumstances do not serve man for his benefit of their own accord. Only through
man's persistent and active creativity, can favourable circumstances act on man
beneficially and unfavourable ones be changed.

A poem written by Korean poet Ryang Sa On is relevant in this context.

However high a mountain may be, it is under the sky.

If man climbs and climbs, he can scale it,

But without trying, he only says the mountain is high.

The poem suggests that one's desire can be attained only with a purposeful and
tireless effort and a strong will to overcome hardship and trial.

Nature is both the material source of human life and a phenomenon that restricts
the independence of man. Society is also a necessary condition for human life, but it
does not always benefit human life and sometimes serves as a restriction on the
independence of man. Therefore, man struggles to conquer nature and transform the
social relationships that restrict his independence. The road towards a new society
opens up only when man fully displays creative activity and a strong will, aware that
he is the master of revolutionary movement and casting off the attitude of a passive
onlooker. This is a proven truth.

Another side of the law of domination, transformation and development of the
world by man is that reform and development of the world is realized in the direction
in which man's independence is achieved.

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In nature, material movement has its own direction of developing from a lower
stage to higher one, from simple to complex and from the inferior to the superior. This
direction of material movement is one of spontaneous movement. Only when man's
conscious and vigorous activity acts on this spontaneous action, does the movement
achieve direction of its development.

Every action of man derives from his independent need to live as the master of the
world. Independence is the basic source that urges man to act and is also the
purpose of his activity. To ensure that nature and society serve him, man employs
his creative ability to the full, aiming at the realization of his independence. He
transforms and changes nature and society in accordance with his independent
needs, weathering all kinds of trials and difficulties.

Today's domestic cattle evolved from wild animals about 10,000 years ago, and
today's hens, from the wild hen called Bangkiba in India. Man makes vinalon or nylon
from inorganic compounds such as limestone or crude oil by dissolving and
synthesizing them, and converts natural energy into other forms of energy in order to
meet his needs.

The long history of the development of productive forces, the history of
development of social systems and the history of progress of science and technology
prove that the transformation and development of the world by man take place in the
direction in which his independence is realized more perfectly, more wholly.

A third aspect of the law of domination and transformation and development of the
world by man is that the sphere of his domination and transformation expands
ceaselessly.

Man has widened this sphere from nearby areas to gradually distant areas, from
near seas to distant seas, from the surface of the earth to underground, and from the
land to air. Today, he is extending this area of domination and transformation to spaces
beyond the atmosphere and sphere of gravitation.

Man has also expanded his sphere of domination and transformation from the
visible world to the invisible, microscopic world. Thus, man has discovered well over
a hundred microscopic particles, and is researching the galaxy up to a distance of 1 8
billion light years.

Of course, at certain stages of historical development the sphere of domination and

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transformation of the world by man is relatively limited, but this is due to the historical
limitations of man's cognition and practical ability. Man's independence, creativity
and consciousness will continue to ceaselessly develop in tandem with the infinite
continuity of the human world; ultimately, there can be no sphere of the world that man
cannot dominate and transform.

The law of the domination, transformation and development of the world by man
provides people with the conviction that the cause of independence of the masses of
the people will surely be achieved and shows them the strong will with which they
must overcome the difficulties they will be faced with in the course of this. These trials
are temporary and can be overcome through active struggle.

15. The Philosophical Principle of Love of and Faith in Man

Like all the sciences, philosophy too is developed and systematized on the basis of
its own basic principles.

By clarifying the essential features of man and elucidating that man is the sole
dominator and remaker of the world, the Juche-based philosophy established the
principle that gives an answer to the question of man's position and role in the
world.

The principle of the Juche philosophy is that man is the master of everything and
decides everything.

Kim Jong II said:

"The philosophical principle of the Juche idea is the principle of man-centred
philosophy which explains man's position and role in the world."

That man is the master of everything explains man's position in the world; that man
decides everything explains man's role in the world.

The man-centred philosophical principle is one of love of and belief in man.

First, the man-centred philosophical principle regards it as its main mission to
carve out man's destiny and give answers about it.

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The fundamental principles of any philosophy are directly related to it s mission.
Only when philosophy shows the way to shaping man's destiny can it be said to have
established the fundamental principles befitting its mission.

The philosophies of the exploiting classes established their principles so that
rule over the people could be rationalized. They philosophically rationalized the
rule of the exploiting classes over the people. They sought to paralyze the
independent consciousness of the people by talking about mysticism, which says
that man's destiny is decided by mysterious, superhuman forces; about
voluntarism, which preaches that man's destiny is determined by the will of a
"superman" or an incarnation of "absolutism"; and about idealism, which holds
that man's destiny is decided by transcendental and psychological factors.

The Marxist-Leninist philosophy elucidated the principle that the material relations
of society decide history and the destiny of man; that matter determines consciousness.
Marx and Lenin made the economic emancipation of the working class their mission
and considered that economic emancipation amounts to human emancipation.
Therefore, the Marxist-Leninist philosophy was developed and systematized with the
fundamental principle that matter decides consciousness.

By elucidating that man is the master of the world and of his own destiny, and that he is
capable of shaping his own destiny as the sole transformer of the world, the Juche philosophy
laid down, for the first time in history, the principle of man carving his own destiny.

The greatest advantage of the philosophical principle of the Juche idea lies in the
fact that it formulates love of man, respect for man and faith in man. Here, respect for
man means that man is respected as the master of history and of his own destiny with
everything else subordinated to him. Faith in man signifies that nature and society can
be transformed and changed by the strength of man so as to realize his independence.

The reason why the Juche philosophy moves the hearts of people is that love of
man, respect for man and faith in man underlie it, and it was evolved and systematized
on the basis of these.

Generally, people think that a philosophical principle is complex and hard to understand,
and that only philosophers will be able to understand and interpret it. But people sympathize
with the principle of the Juche philosophy because it is a simple and universal principle
which they can understand easily and realize in the course of their daily life and activity. The

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people are aware that this principle opens up a bright road ahead of them.

The principle of love and belief is the principle of the Juche philosophy because it
stipulates as its basic tenet that man carves out his own destiny.

Further, the tenet that "Man is the master of everything and decides everything"
underlies the philosophical principle of love and belief because it clarifies the position
and role of man in the world proceeding from his fundamental needs.

Man cognizes natural phenomena and transforms and uses them on the basis of his
needs. The meaning, value and usefulness of things and phenomena themselves are
based on the needs of man and are explained with man as the standard. Accordingly,
the value of man vis-a-vis the world must be determined, from the Juche standpoint, in
terms of the fundamental needs of man as a social being, and not from an objective
standpoint.

Drawing from the main need of social man being the desire to live as the master of
the world and his own destiny, the Juche philosophy formulated the position of man as
the master of the world and his decisive role in the transformation of the world as its
philosophical principle. In this respect it becomes the philosophy of love of and belief
in man.

Moreover, the tenet that "Man is the master of everything and decides everything"
constitutes the philosophical principle of love and belief in that it clarifies man's
position and role with his activity as a focal point of its evolvement.

Man is an active and decisive agent in the mutual interaction between man and the
world; the objective world is only a passive and spontaneous phenomenon. The world
changes in favour of human life through he active and purposeful action of man and
thus man becomes the transformer and dominator of the world.

Since the Juche philosophy examines changes in and the development of the world
with man's activity at its centre, and stipulates the principle that man's actions remake
and dominate the world, it is the philosophical principle of love of and belief in man.

Kim Jong II said:

"The clarification, by the Juche idea of the philosophical principle that man is
the master of everything and decides everything, on the basis of the scientific
explanation of man as a social being, was a philosophical discovery which
brought about a new change in the world."

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In dealing with the issue of the destiny of man, all hues of ideologies in the
historical past had sought to situate man outside the factors deciding man's destiny.

In this sense, it can be said that the principle of the Juche philosophy brought about
a change in the orientation of philosophical study towards the philosophical theory that
"The people are my God" by stressing that the factor determining man's destiny lies
within man, not in anything outside man, and thereby defining man as the dominator
and remoulder of the world.

From the historical point of view as far as the fundamental principles of the previous
philosophies were concerned with regard to world-view, they were evolved by giving
answers to the problem of the origin of the world, rather than the problem of man's destiny.

In this sense, too, the principle of the Juche philosophy put an end to giving
answers to problems of matter and spirit and opened, instead, a new page in the history
of ideology by elucidating the position of man as the master of the world and his
decisive role in the remaking of the world.

Further, when looked at from the point of view of changes in the history of
ideology, we see that even Marxism and Leninism were not based on a radical reform
of the philosophical principle or the mission of philosophy; they only brought about a
change in the framework of the principle, giving an answer to the problem of
correlation of matter and spirit.

However, the Juche philosophy is a scientific exposition of a philosophical
principle that befits the essence and mission of man's outlook on the world and which
elucidates man's position and role in terms of the world and his own destiny. In this
sense, the discovery of the principle of the Juche philosophy is a change in the basic
framework of the history of ideology, or a revolution in the development of ideology.
Herein lies the great contribution of Kim II Sung and Kim Jong II to the history of
ideology and the cause of the emancipation of man.

There is no higher position in the world than being the master of history and of
one's own destiny, and no greater role than that of deciding the development of history
and one's own destiny.

The man-centred philosophical principle of Juche idea proves that there can be no
force that can substitute the strength of the people in remaking the world and
developing history, and that the strength of the people is the absolute force with which

48

to mould history and the destiny of humankind.

Indeed, the man-centred philosophical principle of the Juche idea theoretically
denies exploitation and oppression and places the dignity and value of man at the
centre, thus pumping the infinite vitality into the popular masses and inspiring them to
building a society in which the emancipation of nation, class and man will be realized.

16. Human Dignity and Value Raised to the Highest Level

The man-centred Juche philosophy raises human dignity and value to the highest
level.

Kim Jong II said:

"The Juche philosophy newly elucidated the essential features of man and his
position and role as dominator and transformer of the world, and thus raised his dignity
and value to the highest level possible. This is the great achievement of the Juche
philosophy that no other philosophical thoughts have accomplished."

In the past "heaven" was regarded as the absolute entity that dominated all changes in
the world. So, emperors or kings called themselves "heaven-sent man". And by saying that
their intentions were precisely those of "heaven" and that if anyone betrayed these, he or
she would be punished by God, they ruled the people.

However, the man-centred Juche philosophy put forth man as the dominator and
transformer of the world, thus making the people absolute beings, like "heaven",
dominating and controlling the world; everything else was subordinated to the
realization of the people's independence. In this sense, the Juche philosophy may be
called the philosophy based on the theory that "The people are my God."

The Juche philosophy insists that man is the most precious being in the world.

In the past, too, it used to be said that man is the most precious thing in the world,
not money, but this was often only words on the lips of philosophers and statesmen. It
was no more than empty talk.

As long as the nature of man as a social being and his position and role as the

49

dominator and transformer of the world were not elucidated, this preposition could not
be borne out politically and theoretically or be put into effect.

Of course, this does not mean that man alone has value. Things outside man also
have value, but only in so far as they relate to man.

Things outside man came to acquire their value through the creative actions of man,
with qualities of independence, creativity and consciousness, in the course of which
they came to serve him. This means that only when things and phenomena of the world
are helpful to the well-being of man or serve man, do they come to have any value.

A scientific cognition of the essential characteristics of things and phenomena is a
prerequisite for estimating their value. The object of the estimation of value is things
existing objectively without reliance on the needs of man. Things may be useful or not
for man because of their own features.

Man is the subject of the estimation of value; at the same time, he is the object.

As man attains higher levels of independence, creativity and consciousness, and as
he makes greater contributions to society, the nation and the popular masses,
displaying all his creative wisdom, he becomes a more precious being in society.

National resources have their value, too, to say nothing of material and cultural
means, including all kinds of tools.

The source of such means in the life of man lies in nature. Natural resources or
social wealth that serve man are most precious.

However, these cannot be more precious than man himself, for they are but means
serving the existence and development of man. Indeed, social wealth is a creation of
man.

Everything in the world may serve as a means for man, but man cannot be a means
for the existence of other things; he is, instead, the master who uses all such means for
the realization of his independence.

Man is the sole being that is not subordinated to other beings or things and is not a
means for them. For this reason, man is the most dignified and precious being in the
world.

However, not all men necessarily have dignity and value.

Only men who live as men can have a sense of dignity and worth.

Men who have lost their independence, creativity and consciousness, the essential

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attributes of man, cannot be said to live the life of man.

In the past, society fettered the independence of man. The slaves of ancient society
are an example. They were sold and purchased like things. It is said that in Delos
Island of ancient Rome 10,000 slaves were bargained for and sold in a day. In ancient
Egypt a female slave was sold for 270 grammes of silver. In another country, slaves
who resisted their masters were punished by cutting off the ears and tongue or tearing
them apart, limb from limb. Slaves were buried alive with the master when the latter
died. Platon, a philosopher of ancient Greece is said to have sent his thanks to "God"
for granting him three good wishes, one of which was that he was not born as a slave.

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher who was spokesman of the slave-owners, did not
treat as human beings the slaves who were engaged in physical labour, because he
regarded it impossible to educate them. It would be right to say that they were not
human beings, not because they did physical labour, but because they, despite being
social beings, were alienated from society and failed to live like men.

When man loses his independence and is alienated from society, he cannot be a true
human being living in accordance with his essential attributes.

If man is to live according to his essential nature, it is imperative for him to build a
just and righteous society. Such a society is established by the strong will and struggle
of the popular masses; it does not come into existence of its accord.

A man, who accepts the violation of the dignity of other men inevitable or
acquiesces in dehumanization, cannot be said to be a man worthy of mankind.

Those who uncompromisingly resist an unjust and unequal society and stubbornly
challenge the anti-people's norms of society can be said to be true men living in tune
with their essential nature, although they may be living in an inhuman society.

17. An Induction Furnace Exploded

The Juche philosophy established a new worldview and attitude to the world on the
basis of man's position and role in the world.

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A worldview presents the universal guidelines of action to cognize and transform
the world and the principles to be observed in the course of human activity to shape
one's own destiny.

What, then, is the worldview and attitude to the world established by the Juche
philosophy?

Kim Jong II said:

"The viewpoint and attitude to the world shown by the Juche idea are those with
which the world is approached by focusing on man, the master of the world."

The Juche-oriented outlook on the world, in short, approaches the world with man
at the centre.

The Juche philosophy is a man-centred philosophy whose mission is to give an
answer to the issue of man's destiny, by placing man at the centre of philosophical
study. It elucidates the unique view that man is the dominator and remaker of the world,
a view that sees man as the centre of the world.

The man-centred attitude to the world approaches the world from the point of view
of man's interests. It enables man's interests to be materialized and everything else to
serve him, as master of the world.

The Juche viewpoint also focuses on the actions of man, as the reshaper of the
world. Man requires transformation of the world; only by his energetic activity, can the
world be changed into one that benefits him and serves him. The Juche attitude to the
world is the correct viewpoint because it makes it possible for man to transform the
world purposefully and consciously, to meet his need of independence.

Kim II Sung said:

"That man is placed in the centre of all thinking and everything is made to serve
man is the universal methodology which must be followed in recognizing and
changing the world."

The man-centred attitude to the world stipulates that everything is considered in terms
of man's interests, and is brought to serve the realization of his independence and that any
problem is solved by enhancing his role. This constitutes a universal philosophical
methodology to be followed in all of man's activities.

Some people dismiss philosophy by saying that it cannot produce even a lump of
bread, because they do not understand the methodological role of a worldview and

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therefore they negate the necessity of philosophy. Of course, philosophy itself does not
provide one with bread or rice or knowledge useful in creating material wealth. Instead,
it provides people with something of a higher dimension which cannot be given by the
sum of all kinds of knowledge, that is, a methodology, a compass, a beacon for shaping
one's destiny.

What, then, is the philosophical methodology that functions as the "thread of
Ariadne"?

Human action undertaken to remake nature and society and shape man's destiny
comprises the setting of a goal, the making of means to attain it, their efficient use, the
struggle to overcome difficulties, and so on. So, the content of methodology boils
down to how to define the goal, means and way.

First of all, the Juche viewpoint of the world makes it possible to correctly set the
aim of human activity. That is why it is the most rational philosophical methodology.
Human activity characteristically sets itself a goal and strives for its realization. Man
sets a goal, estimating its consequence, before acting.

The goal of activity defines the object of cognition and transformation and the
extent and depth of the object to be changed.

The main orientation of man's activity is determined in accordance with the
purpose of his activity. The setting of an aim for man's action may either propel or
hinder the shaping of man's destiny and the progress of history.

Only when the main target of human activity coincides with his need for
independence and interests can man carve out his own destiny and advance history. If
the aim restricts and infringes upon man's independence, it would be reactionary and a
hindrance to the progress of history.

Here is a story that illustrates this point.

It is set in the days immediately after Korea was liberated from Japanese military
rule, on August 15, 1945. In Kim Chaek City in the north of Korea, there was a
Japanese -run high frequency steel works which had an induction furnace, two metres
high and ten metres long. The furnace melted pig iron using electricity of 3,300 voltage.
It lacked proper insulation devices. Because of electricity leakage, workers often lost
their lives if their bodies happened to touch metal parts, or if, on rainy days, the
leakage from high-tension wires underground spread to the narrow-gauge railroad. But,

53

although they knew that they were apt to lose their lives, they did not dare abandon the
terror-stricken workplace because it was hard to get a job and make a living.

Every day, a number of workers lost their lives; one day the victims numbered up
to 38. But the management of the company still did not make any arrangements for
safety facilities and forced the workers to continue working at the induction furnace.
The management had issued notices of death beforehand. This was in keeping with the
colonial policy of the Japanese imperialists, who regarded workers' lives as cheaper
than their profits.

Kim II Sung saw the actual conditions and ordered that the furnace be exploded,
saying that however urgently steel was needed for the building of a new country,
workers' lives could not be bartered for it. He stressed that steel produced in such
inhuman conditions was not necessary. What he meant was that although both steel
production and the building of a new nation were necessary for the workers who had
become masters of their country, the induction furnace that threatened their lives was
not useful in this mission, however valuable it might be in the hard economic situation
immediately after liberation.

This shows how the direction of one's activity changes according to the viewpoint
that governs it: whether it is helpful to the independent needs of social man, or to the
interests of a small number of the privileged strata.

Some people say that knowledge of the natural sciences is not for some people but
for all of mankind. Naturally, the Pythagoras theorem or Newton's laws did not in
themselves originate in keeping with the needs and interests of a social collective.
However, the needs and interests of a social group are related to how they are used. For
example, nuclear energy was first used to manufacture bombs for the massacre of
people before it was used to better the material means or living conditions of
independent human life.

According to the goal that is set, human action may be considered to be realistic or
unfeasible or fantastic.

The socialism depicted in Thomas More's Utopia, and Campanella's City of the
Sun and Fourier's Phalanges (communist village) only sympathized with those who
had no properly and wandered about in search of livelihood, and mirrored their desire
in fantastic terms. It was an illusion that was removed from the real class relations in

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society and could not be used as an aim of struggle to shape their destiny.

A certain country began to build a communist society immediately after the
establishment of the socialist system, without taking into consideration the level of
awareness of the popular masses, the main agent of society, and socio-economic
conditions and therefore it suffered a serious setback on the way to building socialism.
Obsessed with the illusion of "material prosperity" and bourgeois democracy of
capitalism, Gorbachev of Russia spoke loudly of building "socialism with a human
face" and ultimately brought about the ruin of socialism.

Man's need for independence is a requirement for living as master of his
destiny, free from all fetters and subjugation; his fundamental interests are formed
in relation with the conditions for the realization of independence. Setting the goal
for one's actions based on the need for independence and interests means arriving
at the right judgement of the needs for independence and the conditions for its
realization.

The goal of action also defines the extent to which one actively participates in the
work for its realization, aware of one's position as master and displaying one's creative
ability.

Only when man's action aims at realizing the people's need for independence and
interests can the broad masses of the people take an active part with the consciousness
of being masters and fully display their creative wisdom and strength.

18. Omnipotence of Man, Materials and Weapons

The Juche-based viewpoint of and standpoint toward the world explains a
philosophical method, an "Ariadne's thread" with which to carve out human destiny. It
makes it possible to correctly define the means to achieve one's aim.

Success or failure in man's struggle for independence largely depends on the right
setting of its aim and on the means employed to attain this. Various means are used by
man in the practice of shaping his destiny. Material and technical means are

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indispensable for this purpose, and the more powerful they are, the more easily success
can be achieved. But material and technical means are in essence no more than the
extension of an arm. The level of development of machines or equipment reflects the
extent of growth of man's creative ability, and they can fulfil their function as a means
for remaking the world only when combined with man; their value and efficiency are
assessed according to how and what they are used for. Thus, they cannot be the basic
means and motive force in the activity for shaping human destiny.

It is man who wages the struggle to shape his destiny. It is also he who invents,
designs, manufactures and uses the means to achieve this. Man alone has the creative
ability to shape his destiny and remake the world.

The basic means to remake nature is man's creative ability; his creative ability to
remould society is in turn formed by the united force of enlightened and organized men.

The means used for action differ according to the aims of one's actions.

If man's aim is to realize the independence of social man, he will make his own
creative ability as the basic means; otherwise, he will use material and technical means
as the basic means.

Exclusive use of material and technical means is the methodology that belongs to
mammonish society. In such a society, the dollar acts like an almighty monster with the
power of magic, or like a "king". The dollar can make one a President or grant one the degree
of Doctor. There exist two governments in the United States: one is the administration, the
official government; the other is an invisible government that lords it over the people. It
consists of financial monopolies, dollar kings. As the American newspaper Washington Post
lamented: it is the dollar that acts as a king in the American society.

In a capitalist society where even persons have exchange value, the dollar, or gold,
is an adjunct of honour, power, morality and conscience, because acquisition of wealth
is man's primary aim in this society.

In days not long after capital appeared in the world, Shakespeare wrote as follows;

Gold, brilliant gold!

This alone turns a black thing white,

An ugly thing beautiful,

A wrong thing, right,

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A humble thing noble,

A red thing black,

A coward into a brave man,

It can assign even a thief to a high position

And offer him title and honour and kowtow.

"Mammonism" or "material omnipotence" defines the basic means and
methodology for acquisition of wealth by the exploitative class.

In today's world "machine omnipotence" and "technology omnipotence"
have become modifications of "material omnipotence" and "mammonism". They
too are employed in the pursuit of the material prosperity and profits of the
privileged class, negating the creative ability of man.

Furthermore, "machine omnipotence" and "technology omnipotence" often
develop into "weapons omnipotence". "Weapons omnipotence" serves the imperialists
as a means for world domination. It also constitutes the main means to maintain
hegemony over the world.

The man-centred Juche philosophy insists on the doctrine of "man omnipotence",
negating the reactionary doctrines of "mammonism", "material omnipotence",
"machine omnipotence" and "technology omnipotence".

It is man who develops science and technology, and makes effective use of them
and manufactures machines and weapons. How to use these is also defined by man.
The methodology of the Juche idea maintains that when man believes in the creative
ability and strength of the people and relies on them, he can achieve anything. So
increasing the creative ability and strength of the people is an essential requirement for
success in shaping one's destiny. In the struggle to remake nature and society and
shape human destiny, one should consider human beings first before machines or
economic conditions, or circumstances of social revolution. Considering people first
means assessing the content and level of their need for independence, the level of their
creative ability, especially their strength to carry out social revolution, and the level of
their consciousness and organization.

To raise man to the level of a powerful being is the first step in remaking the world.

Waiting for favourable conditions and full preparation of material and technical

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means is, in the ultimate analysis, an attitude of giving up one's position as master
in the struggle to shape one's destiny. Through vigorous struggle, man should
create favourable condition, turn unfavourable situations into favourable ones, and
create the material and technical means. History shows that when people are united
as one, they can defeat the worst of fascist dictators. Such was the case with Tiu of
Vietnam, Lonnlol of Cambodia, Pafrabi of Iran, Somosa of Nicaragua and Marcos
of the Philippines, and with the April 19 Popular Uprising, the popular resistance
in Kwangju and the June popular resistance in south Korea.

The Juche-based philosophical methodology shows that man is an almighty
being in the world and that when the people are united as one, they can
overwhelm any force of nature, destroy any fascist dictatorship and bring about
social change.

19. The Secret of 'Chollima'

Another reason why the Juche-based viewpoint of attitude toward the world
serves as a philosophical methodology, as effective as "Ariadne's thread", in
shaping man's destiny is because it shows man the basic methods to solve all
problems arising in the struggle for carving out his own destiny. Once the goal of
man's action in shaping his destiny and the basic means to achieve this are defined
correctly, success depends on what basic means are used. The use of means is
related to the type of the means concerned.

A viewpoint that regards material and economic means as the basic means
considers the development of productive forces to be the most effective way for
shaping human destiny.

Some people regard material and economic stimulus as the basic means to enlist
people and develop the economy.

As material and economic incentives meet the demands of man's right to a stable
life, it may be a stimulant of human activity.

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However, if it were the only solution to human problems, human beings
would become egoistic and individualistic beings acting only for their selfish
interests and comfort; such a society would be a society that is far removed from
man's social attributes.

The Juche-based attitude toward the world considers that the basic method to
solve all of man's problems is to display man's wisdom and strength to the fullest,
for these are the basic means to achieve his aim.

Kim II Sung said:

"There is no special trick in revolution and construction. Rather than make
futile attempts to come up with a brain wave, we should throw our energy into
political work to rouse the masses of the people, who are the makers of history."

People's activity to bring about social reform aims at realizing the
independence of the popular masses; the basic means to accomplish the aim is
their creative ability and strength, which are formed and displayed by their
ideological consciousness.

So primary attention should be paid to bringing up the masses to be powerful
social beings and displaying their creative ability and strength to the full. This
was proved by Korea's successes in the building of a new society and socialist
construction after its liberation. A saying has it that one who does not believe in
a miracle cannot make it.

The man-centred Juche viewpoint explains that if man has faith in the strength
of the people he will inevitably win. He who does not have this faith is not
qualified to be a revolutionary. Such "thinkers" and "agitators" finally slide into
flunkeyism, and become dependent on foreign forces. They act in an ultra-left or
supra-revolutionary way when the revolution is in full swing, but when faced by
trials they fall into pessimism and defeatism and finally surrender or turn
renegade. If man relies on the strength of the people, he can create a miracle; not
otherwise.

Korea carried out socialist construction in very difficult circumstances after
the war. It had not one undamaged brick and could not produce even a gramme of
cement. Meanwhile, the Syngman Rhee clique of south Korea was clamouring
for a "northward march"; and factionalists and flunkeyists were manoeuvring in

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every way possible within the Workers' Party of Korea.

Kim II Sung visited the Kangson Steel Works and talked one to one with the
workers, informing them of the country's political and economic situation. He
made an earnest appeal to them that if they produced 10,000 more tons of
structural steel than planned, it would help the country greatly. He called upon
them to break through the difficulties, saying, "I will trust you, and you'll trust
me." In response to his appeal and unshaken trust in them, the workers
miraculously produced as much as 120,000 tons of steel billets by a blooming
mill with rated capacity of 60,000-tons. Thus, he ensured that the great upsurge
of Chollima effected in socialist construction. (Chollima is a legendary horse
which gallops 400 km in a day.) The Chollima movement was a full display of the
independent ideological consciousness of the popular masses who made efforts
to fulfil their responsibilities and role as masters of society, firmly united behind
their great leader. It was a nationwide movement to do away with the old and the
backward in all fields of the economy, culture, ideology and morality, and to
accelerate socialist construction to the maximum. Through this campaign, Korea
performed the miracle of fulfilling the difficult task of industrializing the country
in the short span of 14 years, a task which had taken capitalist countries all of a
century or several centuries. Thus, it came to be known to the world as the
country of Chollima.

Korea is now stepping up the "Three Revolution Red Flag Movement" in
keeping with a new, higher stage of the developing revolution.

Man, ideology and politics constitute the fundamentals of the revolution and
construction.

The people are the masters of the revolutionary movement, which aims at
realizing their independence. A revolutionary movement can emerge victorious
only when their creative ability and strength are increased, and when political
work to raise their ideological consciousness is successfully conducted.

The Juche viewpoint of the world shows that the best philosophical
methodology that one should be true to the motto, "The people are my God," that
one should devote everything to realizing the people's independence, and that
one should rely on the people, to win all the time.

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20. The Voice of Man Is a Voice from "Heaven"

There goes a saying that the voice of the people is that of heaven. The Juche
philosophy, which requires one to be faithful to the motto, "The people are my
God," shows that it is not a supra-natural God who dominates over all the things
of the world, but that the people themselves are as powerful as the heaven. They
are the most powerful beings in the world who remake and develop nature,
society and man himself. It also explains that the mind and will of the people are
those of heaven and the supreme order of history; that the needs and will of the
people which are the source of action are the highest principle, to be adhered to
persistently. It also indicates that everything should be directed to meeting the
independent needs and interests of the people, and that the creative strength of
the people is the basic means to solve all problems.

What, then, is the voice of Korea in the 21 st century?

The south Korean people no longer want to live as colonial slaves but as
independent people. During more than 50 years under the US imperialists,
following over 40 years under the Japanese, they have bitterly experienced the
wretched existence of colonial slavery. So now they demand the withdrawal of
the US army and independence against US colonial rule.

The south Korean people no longer want to live under a fascist dictatorship.

Whenever such dictators went against the voice and will of the people, they
were judged by history. The miserable ends of successive south Korean rulers
show this. Dictators Syngman Rhee died unnatural death, and Chun Doo Hwan
and Roh Tae Woo served prison terms. Kim Young Sam, the ruler of the civilian
government, was branded as the first "failed president" in history, by receiving
zero per cent support in the last year of his rule. Successive rulers of south Korea
have failed to have their own philosophy or political theory. They adopted all
kinds of West European theories and "philosophies" which are devoid of truth,

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and thus were ruined all of a sudden. Such philosophies whose mission is obscure,
make outcries with no echo, making fool of ordinary people.

The Juche-based philosophy shows that the way to meet the independent
needs and interests of the Korean people who desire independence of their
country is by achieving independent national reunification.

An African figure once said:

An ideal is neither a chemist's advertisement, nor an imported ready-made
suit which could be shortened to be worn, nor a worn-out coin circulating from
one pocket to another, nor a nickname for accumulated knowledge, not a part of
any special knowledge. As knowledge itself cannot be an ideal, so too a scholar
cannot be just a thinker. A true ideal is what can be a motive to and a guide in all
my actions, and also what touches a chord in my heart to make me sympathize
with and what the masses are crying for; that is, its expression can be our ideal.

What I cannot but live with, what I can lay down my life for if necessary, with
nothing remaining to regret-I adhere to such an ideal. That is none other than the
Juche idea, the acme of independent ideals recognized by the world's people.

An ideal of the times as recognized by the world's people is an echo of the
times and the voice of heaven.

Robert Sharman, Honorary President and Professor of Nis University in
France, said: "The Juche idea is a song of songs about the genuine human cause,
a song of songs about man's dignity and value, and a song of songs about the
genuine ideal and eternal prosperity of mankind."

The voice of heaven, the echo of man in our times, is a beacon showing the
way to shape human destiny.

Today, Kim Jong II brightly illuminates the way by holding up the beacon
of human destiny; so, the cause of independence of the Korean people will
surely be realized, and the historical advance toward a society where people
enjoy a life truly worthy of mankind will be propelled along the road to
independence.

I shall end this book with the following epic poem written by Hi Reza
Cozy aster, chief of the Kimilsungism Study Group in Iran.

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Long Live the Great Juche Idea!

I am not a poet.

I have never put down my swelling heart in a poem.

So, at this moment as I dare to hold a pen,

I am afraid

That I should be laughed at by poets,

I should be put on trial by poets ' groups

For the use of formal words of logic.

However, today I put down

My swelling heart,

Without finding too many proper poetic words.

Before ancestors, mankind and the world

I give vent to the cry of my soul,

Charmed by the great philosophical idea.

Man, who are you?

With this unsettled question,

Human history has flowed several thousands of years.

How many philosophers and thinkers,

Including Thales so called the founder of philosophy,

Have dedicated their whole lives to the answer to this question.

I ask, human history

What is the number of those who volunteered on the path of agony

In search of that one truth?

Boasting of history, ancient castles

Still embrace the monuments of those days

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Which had shone as the cradle of philosophy.

Even today worn-out books in the museum

Convey the traces of agony of

A great number of renowned people and philosophers.

They were thirsty for truth,

How many people have there been

For one million years of human history?

They said they would have nothing to regret

Even if they died in the evening,

If they found the truth in the morning.

But none of them found the truth.

Carrying down the question through the passage of time.
The history of philosophy

Has been one of the agony of man to know himself.
So, famous Socrates only shouted,
"Oh, man, know thyself"

And passed away without replying to this question,
Only with the "undying soul".

Mencius and Suncius who in endless debates said
The good fought the evil,
Only flushed at this question.

Even the ardent Aristotle

Who slandered his master Plato.

In his longing for truth,

Left this question unsettled, before dying.

Diogenes, who had shouted to Alexander the Great,

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As he approached him,

Not to shade him from the sunlight,

Died giving no answer to this question.

The ancient philosopher declared so fervently

That he found himself.

The human being he saw with joy

Was an uncertain creature called an "undying fire ".

A modern philosopher, too,
Sought human life, slandering "worship ",
But did not find himself in the worship
Until he died.

How much was man insulted
By the "isms " and "doctrines "
Which prevailed through the ages,
Or the back of time.

Man seemed to be born to be laughed at

As a slave of God at one time,

As an animal obedient to power in other times,

As a horror-struck being living in loneliness at still other times,

As a slave instinctively clinging to existence.

Many philosophers,
Numerous thinkers
Raised to history the question
Man, who are you?

O, Man, you are the master of the world,
Juche replied

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For the first time,

To the question which had remained unsettled in philosophical history

And to the acme of man 's ideal.

An eternal spring

For hearts thirsty for water,

An unquenchable beacon,

Juche casts a light

On the way ahead for sufferers who go astray,

Thus, it won the hearts of all people.

The great and holy Juche
Declares truth, truth only
-Man, your attributes are
Independence,
Creativity,
Consciousness.

Man, you are

The master of your own destiny

The most powerful social being

In the world.

Thanks to the declaration of Juche,

Man, deceived so much

During long years of darkness,

Has found himself

For the first time in the world.

Thanks to the declaration of Juche,
Man, who submitted to his inevitable fate,
Giving ear to this or that theory,

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Cast off the yoke of slavery.

Passed forever

The age of darkness when God was worshipped

As a representative of all rights.

Man who tried to find his own image in Heaven,

Losing all his entity

Has recognized the world for the first time.

Man who had been alienated,

Fascinated by the sweet words of Beneficent God.

Man who had been alienated,

Submitting to the merciless law of capital!

Head up, head up.
You are the master of the world.
You are controller of everything.
You are immediately this world.

Juche placed at the high position of master

Man, who was a slave of Providence,

Power and material

In the several thousand-year-long history of shackles.

Oh, the name of Juche
All people look up to
Is Kim II Sung,
Kim Jong II.
Juche — Kim II Sung
Juche — Kim Jong II.

The name echoes proudly

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From every part of the world,
Illuminating man 's attributes
Heralding the future of mankind.

If it were a name mankind took over

As inheritance handed down from generation to generation,

How could the whole of the world be vibrant with joy like this!

The name is the ideal of a genuine life

Established on the prayer of hundreds of millions of people.

The name is

The everlasting banner of life

Flying high on the peak of human love.

The name is one

Man keeps like his heart,

Brimming over with pride

Swelling to the limit.

The immortal Juche ideal
It teaches man 's attitude and attributes:
Live, only with your own spirit.
Breathe, only with your own soul.

Indeed, the Juche idea is

The bible of the era of independence,

The only teaching of a genuine life

That enlightens all people

That they are the masters of their destiny

Without the penitence of atonement

The Juche idea is the spring song of 'Long live man! '

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That shows man to love people truly,
To believe in them as in Heaven.

The Juche idea is

The quintessence of human philosophy,

A light of life

Burning out the mantle of darkness

Which draped down heavily

During the thousands of years of shackles

With the advent of the great philosopher,

The great statesman, spreading its light,

The long human history bore witness to

Man 's ideal which was in confusion.

Being established as "Juche ".

The great Juche idea

Placed man on the throne

In the majestic royal palace called the world.

The echo of its truth rises louder and louder

Booms forth from century to century.

Man, you are the master of the world.
At the peak of this century
With unexpected events
The great Juche idea
Shines more and more brilliantly.
It illuminates the road ahead for
Hundreds of millions of people,
Lost in stormy winds and darkness.

Involved in a whirlwind of different hues of politics
Politicians administered

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With their own style, all kinds of philosophy.

People were completely confused.

At last, at the end of the 20 century,

Mankind keenly felt the reality

That the Juche idea alone can build a new independent world.

At the close of this eventful century

Woven with years of struggle between ideas.

The forts of revolution with a long history

Turned into mud walls soaked in water one morning,

So pillars under the same roof feebly fell in a moment.

On the land where they wanted to live separately

Jabbering that unification is the source of war,

Cliffs crumbled down of themselves.

With the boom of guns in October

Flames that swept the world

Scattered into pieces

At the ceaseless shower of "material civilization ".

On the other side of the earth,

Huge missiles of the allied forces

Were showered on a small land

That country fell victim to the paradox of "power omnipotence '

This world-startling shock

Caused a great vacillation in the outlook on value.

"Material civilization " left the vacancy of the idea to mankind.

With the appearance of "power omnipotence ",
The progress of "material civilization "
Demonstrated its deformity

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To mankind.

"Material civilization " and 'power omnipotence '
Are rampant in the 20 century
The distorted outlook on value
Lorded it over the 20 century.
Ignorant of what they are
Many people were so distressed.
That they could hardly find their true image.

Modern philosophers and thinkers,

Were in agony about the outlook on value,

However, observing the rapidly-changing situation at the close of this century,

They have taken to the truth wholeheartedly,

That Juche is one 's life and soul.

Korea, advancing along the path of socialism

Without the slightest vacillation in the tide of time,

Showed its own outlook to be as strong as a castle,

Attracting the eyes of all people.

Korea in the Orient defending socialism
As an impregnable fort.
It is the achievement of great Kim Jong II,
Who has united millions of people into one
Under the rays of the Juche idea.

But for this great idea,

How could mankind foresee the future

In the midst of a whirlwind and dirty dust!

History entrusts the future to him,
The holy man, who puts the people

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On the highest peak in the world.
Mankind sings a song of new life.

Glory to the road ahead for mankind
About to usher in a new century
Along the path ofJuche,
To the rushing flow of history.

Though I have said what I wanted to say,

There still remains in my heart a story to be told.

This endless song of mine, though I have sung and sung it again,

Is the shout of my heart

Fascinated by the great Juche idea.

This uncontrollable shout of my excited heart

Is as endless as the truth of the Juche idea is eternal.

Now I hear

Hundreds of millions of people in the world

Treading the earth,

The sound of their footsteps advancing toward a new century,

Upholding the unfurled banner of Juche.

Oh, I pray for eternal blessing
On this planet of ours,
Brilliant with the rays of Juche.

Today, struck with admiration,

I sing this song earnestly,

Though I am a poor singer,

May this song flow into

All hearts aspiring after independence.

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